One Piece - Pluto
by Kiwigami
Summary: Pluto is a young boy who has been raised to become a cold-blooded assassin. Afraid of what he'd become, he desperately protects those that keep him human.
1. The Assassin Who Protects

The first lesson in becoming an assassin was to confront death.

When he was just seven years old, his father guided him to an underground facility beneath their home. He timidly walked down a narrow flight of spiraling stairs. Every square inch of his surroundings carved from dull, grey stone. Light and dark alternated. A series of lamps were attached to the walls, each offering a weak source of orange light which casted against the granular grey surface.

"What is this place?" the boy echoed in disbelief as his violet-hued eyes continuously wandered about curiously. He had never been down here before, unaware of its existence.

"A dungeon," his father answered while looking straight ahead. At the bottom of the stairwell, a wide passage of space stretched beyond them, and along each side was a series of a prison cells, many detaining someone inside already.

The youth followed his father who approached one of the closest cells which appeared to have no one inside. But, on closer inspection, his eyes widened at the sight of a small, four-legged creature inside which slowly began to approach the iron gate with crisscrossing bars. He stared curiously at the silent shadow lurking towards him, and in return, a large pair of blue eyes stared back at the little boy with short black hair, glinting in the darkness. When the critter came to the faint light, he could recognize a white coat of fur. "A cat!" He exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.

Without warning, both the boy and the cat felt a suffocating pressure that oppressed them. A menacing wave of negative energy ghosted through their bodies. Simultaneously, the child flinched, and the cat straightened its tail upright, puffed up its fur, and hissed in response.

The towering man began to unlock the gate with a silver metal key in his hand before sliding it open. A grating sound echoed in the air. Even when an exit was presented, the feline quickly backed off, intimidated by this man's bloodlust.

"Go on," the father gestured his son to step inside. "This is your first time seeing a real cat, right?"

Cautiously, the boy made slow and quiet steps into the cell. Animals had always fascinated him, creatures that were not human, capable of feats that mankind could never obtain. At first glance, he noticed that the cat looked rather old and weary; by no means could it be called a kitten. Lowering himself to a single kneel, he opened both arms welcomingly while observing the furtive creature which merely observed back.

The cat slowly crawled closer, bringing its pink little nose up to the boy's hand to take a sniff. It then mewled while proceeding to walk in circles around him, rubbing its fur against his legs starting from the cheek towards the tip of the tail. A hand gently stroked along its back, feeling the softness of its white fur. It felt nothing like a stuffed animal. He could feel the warmth and the underlying flesh and bones. Unlike a plush toy, there was actual weight behind this living, animated creature.

"It's so cute," said the boy. His eyes softened; his heart melted at the affectionate gestures that the feline was showing to him.

"Don't get too attached to it!" the father warned with a stern, piercing tone.

"Eh!?" the boy swiveled around in shock. "Why not?"

"Catch!" the man tossed a small handheld object that spun in the air.

Before even knowing what was flung at him, the kid caught it with a single hand, fingers gently wrapped around its handle. His eyes analyzed the object up close before widening in shock. Shaped like a tooth, a stainless steel shimmered in the light with a sharp edge and a deathly tip. "A knife?" he muttered quizzically. This was his first time holding the real thing.

"Good catch," the father commended. His tone then became serious, "Now, kill that cat."

"What!?" the son dropped his jaw in horror. His heart sank at the mere thought of taking the life of this feline which had just showed him affection. "Why would I do that?" he exclaimed at the ludicrous demand.

The man crossed his arms, "Because in order to become an assassin, you must learn to kill. That's what assassins do."

That word again: 'assassin'. He kept on hearing that word repeatedly. A part of him thought that becoming an assassin was cool, stealthily snooping around unsuspectedly before delivering a decisive blow. But in his mind, he envisioned doing the killing on human beings. Never did he considered killing an animal before.

"I won't do it," the boy muttered before sliding the knife across the floor, away from his reach. His arms then protectively wrapped around the feline. "I won't kill it," he said decisively.

The gate closed shut, locked. "Then you will decay and rot down here along with that cat. Until you kill it, you will be locked in here." And with that, the father had left the scene, abandoning the child in the prison cell.

The cat lifted its head up, gazing at the small boy attentively. It mewled, drawing the kid's attention and receiving gentle strokes across its back.

"You're so cute!" he spoke to the animal despite knowing that his words would not be understood by the feline. Likewise, he did not understand the meaning behind its mews. Yet, despite being unable to understand each other's words, they felt safe with one another; they could convey some meaning through their body languages.

For several hours, he kept the cat company, stroking its fur and hearing its purr. But, on the very next day, he noticed the cat becoming less and less responsive. The feline would often sleep in a weakened state. It would still purr, but for some reason, he felt that the purr was because it was in pain. Lying beside the feline, he would sleep right to its flank.

On the second day, he woke up from sleeping on the cold, hard floor, sensing someone standing in front of the cell.

"You haven't eaten for two days," the father stated, having returned. "Why are you so adamant about keeping that cat alive?"

"I don't know," the boy responded meekly with a dry tone.

"I told you not to get attached to the cat. Look at your pathetic self, getting all teary because of some dumb animal. Emotions are a weakness. They cloud your judgement; they mess with your head. Getting all sentimental and emotional will get you killed in the real world. It's not that hard. Use your head. Which life is more important: yours or the cat's?"

"Why do I have to choose?" he clenched his fists. "Why can't you just let us both live!?" He raised his voice in protest.

"Because, if you can't even kill a cat, how will you kill a human? Let me ask you something. The fish that you eat, the chicken, the pork, and the beef, where do you think they come from? Animals, obviously, but do you really think they naturally died of old age before ending up on your plate? No, someone killed them. The farmers, who aren't even assassins, brutally slaughtered these animals to feed the humans. I don't see you crying over the meat you happily consume. How many rats and mice do you think that cat might have killed in its life? That stupid cat is probably a better assassin than you!"

"Then," the boy glared back at his father with disdain, "I won't become an assassin. I won't kill."

The man went silent, likely taken aback of those words. "That's fine," he said calmly.

The ease of which his father had accepted his refusal was unexpected. He expected some resistance. But then, his captor continued to speak, "If you refuse to become the heir of this family, then your little sister will just have to do what you could not."

Upon hearing the mention of his little sister, the boy's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't even begin to imagine that sweet, innocent, delicate little girl becoming an assassin. She didn't have what it takes; she lacked the proper mindset to kill. She was too kind and gentle. He didn't want to kill the cat, but if he chose not to, then there was a likely chance that his little sister would have to kill the cat in his stead. Worse, she would walk down the path of murdering countless of lives down the road, a dark path which he could not even begin to comprehend. No. Anything but that. Not his sister. Not Rebecca. He would not allow that. He would never let his sister's innocence be tainted like that.

He scoffed, "My little sister doing what I could not? How stupid." He talked tough while striding over to pick up the knife which he had discarded. His hand trembled as it wielded the blade; his legs wobbled as they walked back towards the sleeping feline.

He remembered his father's warning to not be attached to the cat. It was too late. He loved this cat too much, bewitched by its cuteness. The way it rubbed its cheeks against him, the way it mewled to him, the way it looked at him, this cat was the closest thing he had that could be called a friend. He had already bonded with it for two days, all alone in the same cell without food or water, having only each other's company. It hurts. After all the love and affection that he received from this feline which trusted him ever since its first glance, he was about to betray all of that.

Once he does this, there would be no turning back. He would never forgive myself. He would loathe himself and be disgusted at his betrayal. "I get it now," he realized. "Emotions are a weakness." Before he kills this cat, he must first kill his emotions which would otherwise hold him back, or at least, that must have been what his father intended him to realize. Whatever happens, he couldn't let himself shed a single tear; he mustn't show a single shred of expression on his face. Suppress it. Lock it. Seal it.

Kindness, empathy, and compassion, these were all traits that were chastised because they only get in the way. By detaching oneself from such sentimental feelings, one would have nothing left to lose, the equivalent of having no personal weaknesses. With nothing to lose, there would be no pain. No regret.

He kneeled beside the cat's body which rested meekly on the floor with its body slowly expanding and contracting with every breath it makes. With one hand stroking its fur, he wanted to feel the warmth of a living being once more. If he were to be honest with himself, he had already known. This cat was suffering the entire time, likely very ill. This elderly cat was dying. Ending its life quickly and painlessly may even be merciful. Any hesitation or mistake could accidentally cause this cat further pain; he had to be decisive and precise.

"I'm sorry," he whispered under his breath, right before impaling the feline's heart with the blade in its hand.

He forced himself to feel nothing. Become a void, empty and hollow, nothingness. Endure it. The silent scream in his heart; he must endure it for as long as he can. He must hide it; his father must not find out the truth.

Immediately, he heard the grating of the iron gate sliding open from behind.

"Good grief," the hooded man let out a sigh. "Two days just to kill a cat. Go get something eat and recover your strength." He watched his son silently standing up and walking out from the shadows. There was a different vibe emanating from this boy, one that felt distant and cold. Those stoic eyes of his were different than when he first stepped into the cell.

"Those eyes are a nice look on you. Those are the eyes of a killer."

…

Down the hallway, a little girl with long black hair and violet-hued eyes had just stepped out of her room, and as she gazed down the other end, her jaw dropped. "Pluto!" Rebecca chirped, both startled and excited. Her legs quickly sprinted down the hallway; her arms spread apart before clamping around her brother's torso as she buried herself into him. Cheeks pressed against his chest, she threw all her weight at him, leaning on him for support. "I missed you! Where were you? I couldn't find you for two days."

Her brother stood idly, unmoving and unresponsive. Forlorn, distant, and cold, he was different than before.

Rebecca grew concerned. She saw an emotionless, blank expression on his visage, but she sensed that he was just hiding something from her. "Pluto?" She looked up with a saddened face. "You look thinner," she noted her observation of him. Her brother looked almost malnourished to a degree.

"I'm not feeling too great," he informed her with a dry, weak voice. Deprived of food and water, he had very little strength left in his body to even speak, yet all he could think about was the feline which his very own hands had slain. The image of the white-furred carcass stained in its own blood scarred his mind, haunting him and reminding him of the burden which he'd soon bear. To be the heir of this family meant following the same path as his forefathers, the path of carnage. Giving up now would mean his sin would have been committed in vain; he had decided to become an assassin. If he cowardly refuses, it would be his younger sister who would take up the heir, and he'd do anything to prevent that from happening.

His sister was a year younger than him, making her six-years old. She was purest member of the family, the sweetest, the kindest, and the most endearing. He wanted to protect her innocence; he wanted her to remain naïve of the cruelty that he had to witness even if it meant staining his hands in blood for her sake, even if he meant becoming a monster and losing his human self. This was the secret that his father must never find out.

He wasn't allowed to grow attached to the cat, but his father had always barked at him to not feel attached to anyone. Do no love anyone. Aspire to be a void, an empty hollow vessel, immune to emotions. Immune to loss. Reach the zenith of calmness and clear headedness. Focus with an empty mind. Fear, anger, and stress cause muscles to tense, leading to sluggish movements. Speed and precision were of vital importance to an assassin. These were all his father's teachings.

Therefore, during his time in the dungeon, he concluded: love his little sister in secret, look after her from the shadows. Protect her as an assassin.

"Pluto, there's something I want to show you," Rebecca grabbed his hand and walked away with it, dragging the lethargic boy along with her. "I don't know what to do with him."

Him? The brother remained silently puzzled by her cryptic words. Who was she referring to? Soon, he taken to her room where the girl made sure to close the door shut and lock it. As he watched the youth make her way towards her bed, he heard a high-pitched mewl. His sister crawled down to peek underneath her bed. She meowed before speaking in the human tongue, "You can come out now."

From beneath the bed, a little four-legged creature stepped out from the darkness. A fur coated in pure white, a little kitten crawled out shyly before being gently picked up by the girl's hands. Rebecca walked over towards her brother, presenting him the kitten, "I found this kitten outside. He was frightened and all alone, so I took him inside. I think he was looking for his mother. Eh? Pluto?" She was taken aback by the tears rolling down her brother's cheeks. Never once in her life had she seen him cry before.

The boy gnashed, desperately holding back his tears, but he couldn't help but break down. He killed her. He killed this kitten's mother. He then heard a high-pitched mew, followed by a gentle caress against his ankle. As his watery vision cleared, he saw the little feline rubbing his cheeks against his leg.

"Ah! I'm surprised," the girl watched the lively little furball actively trying to nuzzle with her brother. "It took so long for him to trust me. He really likes you, Pluto."

Stop. He didn't deserve this. This kitten was only acting this way because of his mother's scent rubbed off onto him. He had lived with the mother cat for two days; he probably smelled just like her right now.

"Wanna try holding him? He's really soft." She bent down, reaching out to pick up the endearing little white furball.

No. He couldn't. He didn't have the right to. How could he hold the kitten with the hands that killed its very own mother?

"Here," the girl practically shoved the kitten into her brother's chest, forcing him to hold it. She then smiled while watching the kitten crawl up with its forepaws resting on the boy's shoulder before rubbings its cheeks against him.

"Do you like cats, Pluto?" She asked, knowing the answer already, but she just wanted to hear him say it. The two of them loved animals.

"Yeah," he admitted while observing the playful little kitten nuzzle against him. "I do."

"I'll ask father if we can keep him," she said eagerly.

His eyes widened before flicking towards the girl. "No! You can't!" He said abruptly.

"W-Why not?" Rebecca took a half-step back, a bit shocked by her brother's sudden response.

"He'll never allow it," he held the kitten more protectively in his hands.

"Hmm," she tilted her head, "you think so?"

"We'll take of this kitten ourselves. We'll do it in secret," he said in a dead serious tone, filled with unwavering determination. He repeatedly caressed the kitten from the top of its head and down to its back.

Rebecca smiled. She didn't think her brother would defy their parents like this. Throwing her arms into the air, she was ecstatic, "Okay!" If her brother was in on this little plan too, then she'd gladly oblige.


	2. Pluto's Fear

He was scared.

How many lives can one slay while still clinging to their human self? How many deaths must be witnessed to completely desensitize a child's impressionable heart? How much longer can he last at this rate before turning into a cold-blooded monster?

He feared himself, his potential, and what he can become.

Obediently, the eight-year old boy stepped inside a cold, dingy cell as the iron-barred gate grated along its groves. An echo sounded as his only exit slammed shut and clicked into place, locked. Within the small enclosed space, the floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same ancient bricks of stone. Everything was grey and dim except for the faint orange lights casted through the crisscrossing bars.

In the furthest depth of the room, a man was seated on the floor with his lower back pressed up against the wall. His arms were huddling around his knees which were brought close to his chest. He had unruly black hair and ragged clothes draping his average build with a muscular and somewhat malnourished body. Having been locked up in here for weeks, he likely appeared older than his actual age. His name was Nicholas Morello, a criminal who originated from West Blue and a former crime boss who led a gang of troublemakers. He had orchestrated several massacres and partaken in various shady proclivities of the Underworld – an intricate network of illegal activities that eludes even the World Government.

Lifting his head ever so slightly, his stern, weary eyes followed the elongated shadows casted on the floor from the faint candle lights outside. After tracing along a small silhouette, he made eye contact with a pair of baleful violet eyes that belonged to a child with short black hair. Normally, he'd scoff at the sight of a kid, but those cold, emotionless eyes belonged to that of a killer. And, once a soul has slain another's life, there was no turning back. The sin had been done, etched deeply into the depths of one's heart and mind. This boy didn't carry the slightest bit of hesitation, a sign of experience, but he was still cautious, observing his target.

Without muttering a word, the prisoner stood up, knowing what he must do to survive. Raising up his hands, he held up his guard. "I know you," he ushered in a low, raspy voice. "This is your daily routine, isn't it? You've got a pretty messed up family, ay? You think you can do the same to me as what you did to the others? I've lived decades longer than you. I'm more experienced than you. You really think you can kill me?"

He wasn't being presumptuous; he had witnessed it before. For as long as he has been confined in this cell, he would hear screams, the crackling of bones, and the impact of fists. A few times, he had visually witnessed this same boy being stepping into an inmate's cell before beating the prisoner to death. He would always find those sinister, detached eyes to be uncannily creepy; never had he met someone so young to be this numb to killing.

With his eyes locked onto his target, the boy proceeded to amble onwards with eerily quiet steps like a moving apparition. Clearly trained in the arts of stealth, he emitted no sound. His hands were concealed within the side pockets of his protective vest. A smooth, rounded steel surface wrapped around his outer forearms, the only form of armor he seemed to possess.

Nicholas began rhythmically bouncing his weight up and down, sustaining a light, agile footwork. His left fist held closely to his jaw; his right foot and right fist leading at the front. He held a southpaw stance, an indication of being left hand dominant. With a long sweeping step, he closed the gap of distance between them, entering within striking range. Immediately, he began shooting straight jabs with his right arm, getting a feel for his opponent who quickly shifted his weight and pivoted his stance to evade each assault.

By the third jab, the black-haired boy had leaned back to stay out of the man's reach. At this point, he began to quickly grasp his attacker's range. Their difference in size was obvious; the man clearly had longer limbs along with both a height and weight advantage. Yet, he took the youth seriously, treating him as a legitimate threat. This child was clearly no stranger to fighting, advanced enough to understand the different ranges of combat.

The prisoner pivoted his leading foot outwards, quickly swinging with his leg for a roundhouse kick. It was at this instance that the boy dropped his weight towards one leg, counterbalanced with his arms, and pivoted as he swept an extended leg around, striking the man's single balancing leg with the heel. The large brawler immediately fell onto his back with a heavy thump. His young, nimble opponent must have had an extraordinary sense of timing to have pulled that off. The shadow of a boot loomed over his face, urging him to roll off to the side as a stomp hammered straight down, hitting the stone ground where the man's head once laid.

Quickly pushing himself back onto his feet, Nicholas immediately felt pressured by the kid's readiness to attack. Aggressively, he threw a fully committed straight left punch, backed up by all his weight. From the floor, up the legs, through the turning hips, up the torso, through the arms, and out the hands, he linked every major section of his body to execute a devastating strike.

Swiftly, the boy slipped beneath the big assault with a low, wide, sideways stance as he thrust his right elbow to the side, ramming straight towards the man's solar plexus, a bundle of nerves located right below the center of the chest.

"Arugh!" Nicholas' upper body concaved, struck with a sharp sensation of pain. With his head momentarily lowered, a foreign hand snatched a bundle of his hair and violently pulled his cranium straight down where his face soon smashed head on against a rising knee. Blood leaked out of his nostrils. His brain rattled by the brutal blow; his vision blurred.

Lowering his leg, the boy kept his grip firmly on his opponent's hair, and with the raise of his right arm, he dropped his elbow straight down, slamming into the back of the man's head. It was after that decisive blow that the grownup collapsed onto the ground and rendered unconscious, lying flat on his stomach.

After gazing at his motionless sparring partner for a few seconds, the youth quietly strode towards the barred gate, expecting to leave this cell. "It's over," he stated. His opponent was unable to continue the fight.

A tall, brooding figure stood on the other side with a hood shadowing his face. In a deep voice, he responded, "No. It's not. As long as he's still alive, you're not allowed to leave this cell." This was a deathmatch.

A groan sounded from behind; the man, who was just knocked down, quickly regained his consciousness as a throbbing pain resonated in his head. "Ugh…, you damn brat. I'll kill you!" He gritted his teeth with rage in his eyes.

"Use it," the overseer ordered. "The power that you have obtained today,"

After a short nod, the boy turned around, facing the prisoner for a second time. His violet-hued eyes gleamed with a mystic glow. The entirety of his body began to morph. Hands darkened into pitch-black; fingers sharpened into black claws. Those very claws appeared from his feet as well, piercing out of from the front of his boots. An additional set of appendages sprouted from his shoulder sockets. A bony structure that branched into long, narrow finger-like framework that supported a dark leathery membrane. His ears shifted towards the top of his head, dark and triangularly tipped like that of a feline. He could feel a coat of short fur beneath his clothes, covering mainly his torso.

The prisoner lowered his jaw as his enlarged eyes watched in disbelief. This surreal metamorphosis that the kid underwent had completed in just a matter of seconds. He watched with an unsettling expression as a freakish monster had emerged, locked in the same cell as him.

"Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire Bat," the half-human boy uttered the name of the Zoan-type Devil Fruit power that he now possessed after consuming an unpalatable, vomitous cursed fruit. He curiously casted down his gaze towards the palms of his own hands, repeatedly clenching and loosening his fingers. It felt like he had a completely different body altogether, and although his height and humanoid figure remained the same, the muscles in his body had a different quality to them. His legs felt stronger; his body felt as if they responded to his will a lot faster. The fact that he could now control a pair of wings as if they were another set of limbs would take some getting used to. His wings felt extremely versatile as each consisted over two dozen joints; even the membrane consisted of a network of tiny muscles for him to control. If he fully extended his wings out to the side, his wingspan was about four times his height, and by collapsing his wings like a paper fan, his wings took up very little space behind his back.

It wasn't just his physical form that changed; his senses were also greatly enhanced. He could better smell the malodorous scent of sweat and blood lingering throughout the dungeon. His ears could pick up sounds that he could never have detected before, now able to hear frequencies six times higher than the upper threshold of the human ear. He could hear the breaths of others in the form of ultrasound, each distinguishable from one another as if they were a signature. As he closed his eyes, he could emit his own ultrasound from the region of his nose, and his swiveling ears could hear its echoes. Even without sight, he could sense his physical surroundings through sound.

The tapping of the foot became more audible than ever; he could hear the echoes from the man rushing straight at him from the front. Swaying to the side, he calmly avoided a fist flying past his cheek. The moment the man was within a meter away, he could sense the blood rushing through the veins of the adult body that radiated out heat; the large arteries that coursed through this prisoner were most noticeable. Swiftly, he pierced two fingers deep into the bicep of the man's extended arm, rupturing the brachial artery. As soon as his claws exited the flesh, blood gushed out of the wound like a little geyser.

"Kurgh!" Nicholas staggered back, a hand quickly clutched around his arm, applying pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding. That strike with the claws just now was too precise and decisive to be a coincidence; this boy purposely struck him in that spot. "Damn it!" He growled. His situation was looking quite dire at this point. If he continued to bleed at this rate, he'd die. Faster than his eyes could see, something rammed straight into his gut. His body caved in as a sidekick hurled him across the room until the stone wall killed his momentum abruptly. Coughing and wheezing, he grimaced in anguish. That kick just now had the force way beyond than what a mere child could execute. Was this because of the boy's demonic transformation?

If he doesn't kill this boy soon, he'd be in serious trouble; he had to finish this quickly before he loses too much blood. Bolting forth, he let out an angry battle cry. Once within range, he snapped out a kick that swooshed through thin air as the Zoan-user flipped over his head. Upon reestablishing his balance, the prisoner quickly pivoted his stance towards his back, ready to attack, but against his expectation, his opponent wasn't behind him. He had thought the kid had flipped over his head and would have landed behind him.

From an odd angle, a backfist slammed into his head from the side, blindsiding him. Nicholas's head swung away as his body lumbered with it. The inside of his head was ringing painfully as if an alarm bell had just activated in his brain. His vision grew fuzzy, able to make out a silhouette that hung upside down from the ceiling.

Hooked claws clung onto the rough, granular surface above, the winged child gazed at his half-dead adversary with a flipped viewpoint. Being upside down felt unusually natural for him now.

Leaning his back against the wall was all the ex-crime boss could do to remain upright as he began to feel lightheaded and lethargic. Shock bloomed from his visage the moment the boy landed right in front of him. He coughed out a light shade of blood. His brows tensed as he shifted his blurry vision from those cold violet eyes down towards the hand that penetrated through his chest and punctured his heart.

"Spear Fist," the boy said softly, announcing the name of his technique. He could now pierce through flesh with just his fingertips. His claws slipped through the gaps of the man's ribcage, bypassing the skeletal defense and straight for the vital organ.

Retracting his bloodstained hand, the devilish being turned his back and walked away as the corpse slumped to the cold, hard floor. The iron gates grated open, rewarding the youth with freedom. Outside of the cell was a wide corridor that stretched across a great length. Dim orange lights illuminated from the little lamps stationed along the side of the walls in between each cell.

Various captured criminals were hoarded in this dungeon, beneath the great lair of this unnamed family of assassins. By tradition, their ancient art of assassination was passed down secretively from father to son. From a very young age, the heir to the family would learn to dance along the thin curb of life and death. Each generation strived to surpass the older one. Blessed with a prodigy who has now obtained the cursed power of the devil, the family now placed their hopes and dreams into this young boy in training.

The criminals were mere throwaway lives, served as daily sparring partners for the assassin in training. Their strengths were judged and ranked from weakest to strongest. Each day, he must kill someone slightly stronger than yesterday. With supervision from the father, the child would be constantly exposed to danger as he faces life and death scenarios head on, all while being desensitized to the cruelty.

"Why did you hold back?" the father barked at the boy harshly. "Never give your enemy time to rest. Take them out as efficiently as possible. It took you three hits to knock him out and three additional hits before killing him. You could've killed in one hit instead. Were you just being cautious? Or, was there another reason that you stalled for so long?"

"If all my fights end in just one hit, how am I supposed to practice when the fights end so quickly?"

"I see your point. You'll also need more practice utilizing your newly acquired Devil Fruit power. Very well then, it seems that you've gotten strong enough that these petty criminals will no longer be useful for your personal growth." Real, live, resisting opponents were the best tools to learn how to fight; he had made his son go through these daily trials of confronting criminals who would try to kill him. Every day was life and death for his son; learning to keep a calm mind in the midst of danger was vitally important. "That was the one-hundredth prisoner that you've slain. Go and get some rest."

"Okay," the little one nodded before striding off on his own.

"Oh, one more thing, Pluto," the hooded man called out to him. "Although you're still young, I think you're ready to take the next step. I'll be taking you to the Grand Line. I will show you the true nature of this world that we live in."

"Just you and me?" He questioned. A two-man crew was awfully small to be voyaging to the Grand Line of all places.

"Correct," the father confirmed.

"How long will we be gone?" the boy asked curiously.

"A few years," the father reckoned.

"Alright," Pluto sounded indifferent, but as he walked off, a tinge of sadness grew on his face.

…

Steaming hot water rained down from the showerhead, forming mist that shrouded his figure. He washed and scrubbed as much as he could, but no matter how much he cleansed himself, he couldn't rid himself from the acrid scent of blood.

Being a Devil Fruit user meant that he could no longer use a bathtub without the water draining him of his strength and energy but moving water such as a shower would not affect him. The curse was quite strange indeed. In exchange for a supernatural power, he lost his ability to swim, and in a world where the vast majority of its surface area was water, that could prove fatal if he isn't careful.

After stepping out of the shower and clothing himself, he ambled down the corridor until a thunderous, ear-splitting scream frightened him to retreat a few steps back.

"HAH!? YOU BROKE THE PLATE? HOW COULD YOU?" A woman howled at the top of her lungs, inflamed at the little girl who had fallen to the floor. "You stupid girl! You can't even carry a plate without dropping it? Your father risks his life out there to bring in money to this family, and your brother is training every day to carry on our tradition. And you? What do you do? What are you good for? You can't fight. You can't cook. You can't do anything! You're useless!"

"I-I'm s-sorry!" The girl sat on the floor, frozen with fear with her hands covering her wound. Beside her were fragmented shards from a plate along with spilled water.

"You make me sick!" the furious woman pointed straight towards the mess, "Go clean this mess up then immediately head to my room! I'll discipline you!"

"N-No! Please! Anything but that!" the youth pleaded.

"Quit your whining!" The mother swatted her open palm across, ready to slap her daughter in the face.

Rebecca squeezed her tear-filled eyes shut, embracing herself for the pain. But, nothing happened. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw someone standing in front of her, grabbing her mother's wrist right before impact.

"Pluto!?" the woman was taken aback at who it was to have stopped her physical assault. "What are you doing? You dare stand against me!? Your own mother?"

"You seem stressed. Don't push yourself too hard," he spoke in a hollow voice, detached of emotions. His eyes flickered towards his little sister before unleashing an impulse of bloodlust. He watched the girl flinching in response to his murderous intent. "Leave this to me," he uttered in a cold, sadistic tone. "I'll punish her in your stead."

"Oh, Pluto. You're so dependable," the mother placed a hand gently on her son's face, smiling softly. She was so proud of him for becoming so strong and independent. According to his strict father, she had heard that her son was a bit of a prodigy. "Alright, I'll leave her to you." The woman sauntered off and left the siblings alone.

Once his mother had left the scene, Pluto quickly turned around and kneeled on one leg, lowering himself to meet his sister at eye level. "Show me your wound," he whispered, and the girl hesitantly moved her hand away from her lower calf, revealing a shallow cut that was a few inches long. It didn't take much detective skills to conclude that her wound was caused by a fragment of the shattered plate that scattered across the floor.

"We need to wash your wound and place a bandage on it." he quickly scooped the girl up into his arms, carrying her like a princess.

Rebecca felt herself being carried away with ease. She gazed into her brother's eyes curiously. What was that just now? The sensation that made her afraid of him. For a brief second, she felt threatened by his presence. Eventually, the two of them entered the bathroom, and she felt at ease, her heart fluttering at her brother's kindness.

She was settled down onto a stool. Her brother turned on the facet as cold water gushed out.

"Pluto," she called out to him freely without restraint before announcing, "I love you!" There were two sides to her brother. One was a façade that he puts on in front of their parents, and the other was the side that she had always known and loved: the gentle, caring boy who would always look out for her.

"Eh!?" The brother was taken aback by her words. "I still need to punish you, you know?"

"You're lying," she said while smiling. "That's what you've said before, but Pluto wouldn't do anything to harm me." Time and time again, her brother would rescue her from their mother's wrath.

"Rebecca," he spoke her name softly. "I'll be leaving you soon."

Startled, the girl quickly reached out with her little arms, clutching onto his shirt with both hands, "What!? What do you mean?"

He continued on to explain, "Father will be taking me with him to train me and expose me to the outside world. I'll be gone for a few years."

First, there was silence for the girl to register his words; next, her eyes began to well up in tears. "No!" She protested before burying her entire face into his chest, smothering herself against him. "I don't want you to leave me! Take me with you!"

"You know I can't do that," he said regrettably. "Father is much harder to manipulate than mother. He's calmer and more logical. He'd never agree to the idea of taking you along."

"But, you're the only good thing in my life! Without you, I'm scared. Mother will torture me. I'm scared of living here without you."

"I know," he gritted his teeth, suppressing with rage. But, even as he continued to speak, his hate and anger trembled through his words, "Mother is abusive, hot-tempered, and mentally unstable." He despised that woman. He loathed this entire family tradition. He was never viewed as a son or a human to begin with; he was born solely to be a cold-hearted killing machine. He had sworn to himself to be the very last inheritor of their family's martial art, never would he pass such a dangerous style down to anyone else. Likewise, his sister was never viewed as a human; she was just a tool to populate this small family in the future.

He knew that his psyche was past the point of no return. Before he slain his first victim, he was trembling with fear, the realization that death was real and that it could happen to him as well. But after being forced to kill with his bare hands, day after day for the past several months, his heart grew numb to it all. No matter how many lives he slain, he felt nothing. Little by little, he was gradually becoming the deadly weapon that his parents wished for him to become.

His sister had been kept in the dark about his real training. He could never bring himself to tell her the truth. How could he? She was the only the good thing in his life. She was the only one who loved him. How could he betray her innocence and tell her that her own brother was a murderer? She was the only thing left that reminded him of his own humanity. Once they are forced to part ways, he feared what kind of person he would become.

He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a tight hug. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he made sure that his face was hidden from her view as he casts a cold, sinister glare off into the distance, "Before I leave, I'll make sure you'll be protected while I'm gone."

"W-Will you come back?" She sobbed.

"Of course," he reassured her. "I'll come back to get you. I promise. Rebecca, there's something I need you do to for me as well."

"What is it?" It was rare for him to asked him for a favor. What could she possibly do for him?

He momentarily looked up, thoughtfully piecing together what he wants to tell her. Then, he gazed her straight into her violet-hued eyes and spoke straight from his heart, "When I do come back, I'll probably be very different than who I am now. I don't know what kind of a person I'll become. I might become apathetic, cynical, and cruel. So, when you see my future self, give him a hug. Melt away that icy cold heart. Remind him that he is loved by you. Remind him that he isn't alone. Beat him up if you have to."

Stunned by what she just heard, Rebecca gazed at him with both a look of concern and respect. She didn't know that he had thought this far ahead. Was he that worried about who he'd become? Afraid to become someone that he didn't want to be?

"Could you do that for me?" the boy asked sincerely.


	3. Monster

Nighttime. The door slowly crept open as a dark silhouette furtively slipping through the small opening before gently closing the entrance shut. Silently intruding into the room, cautious steps strode their way towards the occupied bed. A looming figure hovered over the sleeper. Hands reached out possessively until a voice startled them stiff.

"What are you doing here, Rebecca?" Pluto lied in bed with his head turned away from the girl who was sneaking into his room. He was just about to fall asleep before the intruder alerted him to keep his guard up.

"H-How'd you know it's me?" the sister whispered in surprise. Her stealth had failed her; she had been detected by her observant brother.

"Who else would sneak into my room at night?"

Without another word, Rebecca immediately lifted the edge of his blanket before crawling underneath, cloaking herself in a sea of warmth and comfort. Her arms slithered and wrapped around the boy's torso. She pressed her face against him with a forlorn look in her eyes. Whether it be a loud thunderstorm or a startling nightmare, she'd often sneak into this room and crawl into his bed because her brother made her feel safe.

"Pluto, I'm scared. I don't want you to leave me," she whispered, almost pleading for him to stay. But, she knew that her words were futile, so at the very least, she wanted to be with him for one last time before he leaves for an undetermined amount of time.

The boy scooched away before rolling around such that he was now facing her. He looked at her straight in the eyes. "I'll come back one day. But, while I'm gone, you won't have to be scared," he said softly, gently soothing her to close her eyes. "Rebecca, when you wake up again, you will find yourself in a new home. Forget about everything. Sever your ties to this family. You will meet new people, make new friends, play with kids your own age, live in a safe and fun environment. Doesn't that sound great? You'll get to live the life as a normal human girl." He painted her a picture, a scene, a vision. This was the paradise that he wished upon her.

"What do you mean? How would that happen?" She asked quizzically. Even though he wasn't the type to lie or exaggerate, she still couldn't fully believe him. It was unrealistic for such drastic changes to occur overnight.

"Leave that to me. Just forget about everything. I want you to live a new life, a happier life, nourished by real love and raised by a real family."

She only had one qualm with his words, "I will never forget you." Even if all of her memories were buried away with new ones, she promised to always treasure the ones that involves her older brother.

"And, I will never forget you as well," he reciprocated.

"What about you?" she wondered if any part of his vision applied to him as well. "Will you make new friends too?"

"Ha!" he scoffed at the silly suggestion. "Probably not. I'll probably make lots of enemies instead. I'm afraid that I'll be walking down a far different path than you." Despite admitting that, he didn't sound sadden at all; he had grown to accept this path that was carved for him since his birth. His parents might even say that it's his destiny to walk down the path of carnage. But, he wasn't willing to conform completely; there were still a few tweaks that he made. And, there were still a few seeds that he needed to plant – all to create a world, a scenario for his little sister to live her life peacefully.

He had already forgotten when he started to feel this way, but somewhere down the line, he had stopped caring about the lives of others. Time and time again, the repetition of death had drained the purpose and meaning behind living. In retrospect, killing all those criminals didn't feel nearly as bad as killing that cat. It made him question his values. Did he value the life of animals more than human lives?

Was there any good in mankind? He was still inexperienced. Had it not been for his sister's purity, he may have believed that everyone was cruel and heartless. Yet, most people whom he met in person were all just prisoners whose crimes were never witnessed by him. He didn't understand the weight behind their crimes; he didn't understand the meaning behind a sin.

But, that was okay with him. He didn't care how many sins he must commit or how much blood his hands most soak up. Because, his personal world only had one thing worth protecting. It wasn't just her safety that he wanted to ensure; he wanted her to stay just the way she is right now: naïve and ignorant of the monstrosity that humans were capable of. He had never met a beast that could surpass humans' potential for malice.

Rebecca's words resonated with him, "I don't like the path that you're taking. You always end up hurt." It was not uncommon for her to see visible bruises on him, and that was when he's clothed too. She couldn't imagine the level of beating he must have received when he first started training. It wasn't until recently that he seems to make it out of his training sessions unscathed. But, his training was kept secret from her. She had no idea what he was going through with each passing day. What did father do to him this entire time?

"I'm used to the pain by now," he murmured. Regrettably, he had kept many things secret from her, but he genuinely enjoyed listening to what she had to say. He wanted to know what an untainted person had to say; he wanted to believe that humans were capable of she is.

"Is that even a good thing?" the girl questioned. Hearing him say such a thing only tears her heart. She had always suspected something about him. She had always felt this inkling that Pluto was hiding his pain from her. No matter what form of suffering he endured, he had the skill to put on this poker face, giving the illusion that he is unfazed and undaunted.

"I don't know," he whispered his last words to her before the girl fell right to sleep.

…

The next morning…

"REBECCA!" A furious shout echoed throughout the corridor as a black-haired woman sauntered with her hands cupped by her open mouth. "SHOW YOURSELF!" She screamed. "COME OUT! QUIT HIDING!"

Storming through the hallway, the woman entered the kitchen. A breeze soon flew past her, sending a chill down her spine. Her eyes widened as she peered through the darkness of the room. Flickering a glare towards the innermost corner, she could vague make out a child's silhouette. "There you are!" She growled before turning on the lights.

But, before she could utter another angry word, she found someone else instead. A black-haired boy with violet-hued eyes, cladded in a dark-grey cloak.

"What's the matter, mother?" the child looked towards her with a calm demeanor. He was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, appearing to have been waiting here this whole time.

"Pluto?" the robed woman stared blankly, not expecting to find her son here. "Do you know where your sister is?"

"I've been busy packing up to leave with father," he explained. "So, I never had to chance to see her today. Is she not in her room?"

"That's the first place I checked, and she wasn't there. That troublemaker has got serve nerve to be ignoring her mother."

"Why are you looking for her anyways?" asked the son inquisitively.

"I saw a filthy animal crawling out of her room! She must have been keeping that disgusting four-legged creature in secret." the woman bellowed.

"I see," the boy muttered. He pushed himself off the counter, standing upright and closing his eyes, "Then allow me to find this creature you speak of." Dark, leathery wings bloomed from his shoulder sockets with thin membrane connected to the side of his body, reaching down to his ankles. Triangular ears morphed towards the top of his head. Hands darkened into black with their fingertips sharpened into claws. A coat of dark fur grew beneath his clothing. With his wings collapsed, the half-human child took a few strides forward.

The mother was taken aback by the freakish, high-speed transformation. She had heard about her son obtaining one of those cursed fruits, but this was the first time she witnessed its effects herself. Her son appeared ominous and demonic as if he became the devil himself with those black wings and claws.

Meanwhile, Pluto kept his eyes closed; his ears swiveling and twitching like a pair of satellite dishes. All he needed was a breath. No matter how stealthy and quiet, even a cat could not hide from him.

 _Echolocation._

As the mother stood by watching her son standing idly still in his hybrid form, her eyes caught glimpse of a shadow below the corner of eye as a small critter scampered towards the boy. She was immediately perplexed. Her son didn't have to move an inch, yet the animal came straight to him.

Pluto lowered himself, wrapped around the kitten with both hands tautly, and lift it up close towards its chest. The little white kitten placed two paws onto his shoulder and nuzzled against his cheeks. Despite the altered form of the boy, the feline could still recognize him.

"So, it's true," he confirmed as he glanced over at the feline, speaking to it directly. "Although I had to lower the frequency a tiny bit for you to pick it up, you can hear my echolocation. A cat's ear can pick up ultrasound, about three times higher than what human ear can hear. In comparison, I can hear about six times higher than what a human ear can hear or about twice as much as a cat's."

The mother was impressed by how quickly her son could competently lure the animal to him through ultrasound, but something still didn't quite sit right with her. The cat was unusually affectionate and trusting of the boy.

Without any shift in his expression, the boy informed the woman, "When Rebecca broke the plate yesterday, she was trying to give this kitten some water to drink."

"What!?" Her suspicion had just been confirmed. "She dares to keep an animal at home and hide it from me?"

"Of course. She knows that if you found out, you would never let her keep it."

"And why is that cat still here? Why didn't you get rid of it?"

"Oh, she has been taking care of this cat for the past several months. To be honest, I'm surprised you've never noticed."

"What!? Several months!? And you knew about it this whole time? You didn't try to discipline her?"

"Discipline?" He tilted his head. "Oh! You mean the way you torture Rebecca for the pettiest of things?" A spark of hate flashed in his eyes. "I have never," he tensed his brows, "harmed my sister."

Something was strange about her son. "What are you saying? You've always punished her for her wrongdoings, haven't you?" Countless of times, her son would intervene and handle his sister's punishment for her. Given his cold demeanor around his sister and Rebecca's fear of his bloodlust, she had been convinced to leave it in his hands.

The Zoan-user raised his voice, "Wrong, because your abusive parenting is punishment enough!"

The woman gasped. "Pluto! What has gotten into you? Why are you defending your sister?"

"I have always been defending my sister – from you! You know nothing about your own children!"

"I don't understand," she shook her head, bewildered by what she was hearing. "What are you saying?"

"My cruelty around Rebecca was all just an act," he admitted the truth. "To be an assassin, I must not be attached to anyone. I knew that if I outwardly showed kindness to her, father would try to fix me. So, for a very long time, I've put up an act in front of you two while protecting her from the shadows. And now that I'll be leaving, I'm here to make sure that you will never harm her ever again."

"Pluto! Everything I've done is for both you and sister's sake!"

"Wrong! You're doing this for your sake. You have no control over your emotions, and you just take out your anger on a seven-year old girl. I cannot leave my sister alone in your hands."

"You!" she shot an accusing glare at her son. "Where did you hide Rebecca?"

"You will never see her again," he said lucidly with a sharp tongue. "Or rather, I'll be the very last person that you will ever see."

"Are you threatening me, Pluto!?"

…

Groggily, Rebecca opened her eyes, finding herself hugging a stuffed animal that resembled a white kitten. But, the bed which she lied on felt different. It had a different tension and texture along with an unfamiliar scent to it. Slowly rising, she scanned around the room before asking herself "Where am I?"

"This is an orphanage," a youthful blond woman, dressed as a nun, answered her question as she sat in a chair in the distance. "I know that this must be very sudden for you, but this is your new home."

"What?" the girl blinked, dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry. This must be quite a shock to you. Allow me to explain," the polite, young nun looked up, recollecting her memories. "Two days ago, a boy snuck in here out of nowhere. I thought he was an orphan at first, but I didn't recognize him at all. He had very quiet footsteps. He would constantly scrutinize every detail of this orphanage, including all its members. He requested that I take in another orphan, practically forced a huge sum of cash onto me." She then chuckled. "I told him that I didn't need his money, but he insisted on donating. Then, last night, he brought you here, carrying you in his arms. He told me to tell you that he will come back one day."

Rebecca was left speechless; tears welled up in her eyes. Everything that her brother had told her last night, it all made sense now. "He's my brother," she stated. "He's always protecting me."

…

While backing off, the mother heard a splash as if she had just stepped into a puddle. As her eyes of anxiety shifted towards the tiled floor beneath her, she saw an expanding pool of crimson beginning to take form. But, whose blood did this belonged to? Had it been here the whole time, she would have taken notice upon stepping into the room.

And then, she saw a drop of blood dripped from behind and splattered onto the floor. Now that she moved around a bit, her back was feeling a bit wet. As she reached behind with her hand to touch her spine, she felt a sticky, dampen substance rubbed onto her hand, and upon inspection of the pads of her fingers, she saw blood.

"How long have I been bleeding?" She uttered in disbelief. Was there a cut on her back? Did someone slice her? But, she couldn't feel any pain at all. Nothing was hurting. What was going on?

"So, you've finally taken notice," the boy took a few strides forward, confident and focused.

The woman clenched her teeth. "Pluto! Is this your doing!?" She couldn't believe that her own son would do this to her. But, she couldn't understand how he could have pulled this off. Her bleeding was abnormal; crimson fluid kept oozing out nonstop. The cut seemed shallow, but she shouldn't be losing this much blood.

"Me?" He tilted his head, making it painfully clear that he was playing dumb. "Now what makes you think that? Haven't I been standing here this whole time?"

"I shouldn't be bleeding this much," she kept wiping the blood off her back, leaving her hands smudged in shimmering red. "What did you do to me?"

"Just a little experiment. I'm still learning how my Devil Fruit power works after all."

"Your power is just a Zoan-type," she exclaimed, well educated on the categories of Devil Fruit powers. There should be nothing magical behind a Zoan-type beyond transformational abilities. They were by far the easiest class to discern with the simplest abilities.

"Correct, I ate the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire Bat, so you might be asking: what could a puny little bat possibly do? A Zoan-type usually grants a tremendous boost in strength and durability by turning into a giant hulking beast. But, my powers are a bit subtler than that. I can produce a substance known as Draculin."

"Draculin?" she had never heard of such a term. "Is that a kind of poison?"

"It's a substance that I can produce from my saliva," he gestured towards his open mouth. "It prevents your blood from clotting up; you'll continue to bleed nonstop as if you have hemophilia." He then pulled out a knife from behind his back. "I concentrated a high dosage of Draculin onto this blade. Combined with a numbing agent, you can't feel the wound at all. By the time you notice your wound, you would have already lost a lot of blood. It's a pretty scary tactic if I use it this way, don't you think? This is how vampire bats feed on prey much larger than them without being noticed, and this is how I can assassinate you."

"You impudent brat! This is nothing! You think this will be enough to stop me? You should've coated that blade with poison while she had the chance."

"I've already considered that," he informed. "But you are resistant to a numerous type of poison. I couldn't take that risk of it not working on you. Using tactics that you're already familiar with would be too risky." They were assassins. Training the body to produce antibodies against various types of poison and venom was common practice in this household.

"But, Draculin isn't a poison; it's not something you can just cure," the boy concluded.

The mother wondered how much time had passed by. Now that she thinks carefully, she did recall feeling a breeze prior to stepping into the kitchen. Was that when Pluto attacked? Most likely, he attacked as a bat, the only form in which he could have snuck in here without her noticing. She also thought how strange it was for him to be this talkative. The boy was normally very quiet and reserved. But, now she knew why; he was stalling. This entire time, he was stalling for as much time as possible, distracting her with his words, all for her to lose as much blood as possible. She was already starting to feel a chill, her skin becoming pale.

With a sudden outburst, a gust of wind knocked her against the wall. The boy had splayed out his wings, and in a single swift flap, he propelled himself forward, flickering forth with a knife piercing through the air.

Shocked, the mother watched her demonic son impale her heart with the blood-stained knife.

"This is the very same knife that father forced me to use on my first kill," he commented. "Do you understand now, mother? Just how terrifying death is? We all delude ourselves into thinking that death is some blessing in disguise. I've slain over a hundred lives already, and even right now, I feel nothing. I'm empty, hollow. I feel no remorse, no pain. Are you happy now? This is the human weapon you helped to create. You turned me into a **monster**."


	4. War

**Grand Line: Battalia Island**

Gunshots echoed in the distance. Cannons whistled across the sky before exploding upon impact. Muffled screams and cries sounded through the air. Platoons of soldiers stormed across the battlefield, wielding swords and rifles.

Dull and grey, the heaven was covered entirely by clouds. Mountains spanned across the horizon. Uneven grounds throughout, plantations scattered at different regions along with forests, plains, valleys, and ruined villages.

A battle between two nations, stubbornly clashing each other head on. Neither could outplay the other, a stalemate that led to a perpetual cycle of endless deaths. Bloodied corpses here and there, left behind without a grave.

This was war.

Deep in the woods, a secretive meeting was held where soldiers rendezvoused to strategize. Guards stood firmly with a straight spine and kept watch from the outside of a cabin. Soldiers of high rankings gathered around a long rectangular table with a map laid out on top with little pebbles used to represent forces on the battlefield. At the head of the table, the general sat with a calm, collected demeanor.

"How can this be?" a soldier slammed the table with his fists. "How could they have known?"

Tension in the air brewed because they all came to the same unspoken conclusion: there was a mole among them. For the past few weeks, an unknown force had started to act against them. Time and time again, their ambushes would fail. Every type of mobilization of their troops would be countered as if the enemy had foreseen it. None of this could be a coincidence. Someone had to be leaking out information about their plans. Even when their plans were told to only those within this room, their classified secrets would still seemingly reach the enemy's hands. There was no other explanation other than there being a mole among them – quite possibly within this very room. Or, could it be the guards standing outside the door right now, eavesdropping? Who was it?

Voices flooded the room. Men talked over one another, suspecting their own comrades.

"Quiet!" The general barked, silencing the room. "There's no point in fighting amongst ourselves. We must…"

"… proceed with caution," repeated the half-human boy in the far distance. His large, triangular cupped ears focused in on the cabin within view. Perched on a high branch, the zoan-user spoke into a communication device in his hand that took form as an actual living telepathic snail with an electronic receiver attached to it. "We must remember that this war has gone on for over a year, and not once has something like this has occurred. We're all experienced soldiers. If there is a mole among us, why would he be acting now of all times? I suspect that there is a new player on the battlefield, someone who's extraordinarily capable at gathering information."

Three-hundred meters away, Pluto was at a safe enough distance such that he wouldn't be spotted, especially with all the trees shielding him from view. But, even at this range, he could still pick up the conversation taking place in the cabin, and with every single word muttered, he would repeat them into the Den Den Mushi in his hand, transmitting the information to his father, who's stationed elsewhere.

"We've received reports coming in of several of our squads being slaughtered with no survivors. Judging by the time of their deaths, we suspect that they were ambushed at night. Strangely enough, not a single one of them was shot. All of them were killed the same way; their hearts were impaled by a blade. The accuracy and precision to accomplish such a feat suggest a very skilled culprit."

"'A' culprit?" someone in the room raised a brow. "You think one person did all this?"

"I can't rule out the possibility of there being more than one culprit, but I'd like to believe that there aren't multiple people out there capable of this exact same method of killing in the middle of the night. It was too clean. Too perfect. Our men weren't just ambushed by an enemy squad. They were assassinated. No soldier that I've seen could do something like this. No bullet wounds and no sword wounds, it has to be someone skilled at close-range combat."

Meanwhile, Pluto closed his eyes and scoffed to himself. He discontinued repeating what he heard. There was no point anymore. He was hoping that they would continue to fight amongst themselves, thinking that there's a traitor. But, it seemed that they are starting to figure out about his involvement in this war.

His father's voice responded from the snail which impersonated the facial expression and lip movement of the speak on the other end, "General Hammerstein is a smart man. If they already deduced that much about you, then manipulating them any further would be tricky. We've already squeezed every ounce of usage out of them. There's no longer a reason to keep them alive. Eliminate them."

"Understood," the boy replied in a detached tone before placing the receiver back on top of the snail's round shell. A menacing glare flickered towards the cabin. Eyes filled with hatred.

He didn't want to hear it anymore, the gunshots, the screams, the cries. Not all the voices he heard were from soldiers. Some were villagers. Some were elderly men and women; some were children. The sheer scale of this madness was beyond his comprehension. Hundreds of lives were being slayed all around him, and there was nothing he could do. He was only one person who can only be in one place at a given time.

He thought that he was different – that killing was abnormal. He thought that he was an outlier. But now, he learned the existence of soldiers fighting in war, systematically killing each other under the command of a higher rank. And at the very top of the hierarchical chain of command was a greedy, tyrannical king sitting on a throne, oblivious to the horrors of the battlefield. Human lives became nothing more than a mere statistic.

Behind the curtains, he and his father were the ones that lurked in the shadows, turning the tide of the war. Intel was crucial for the general. Spies and assassins became vital.

He had been here for three months already. How long must this last? These lunatics had been fighting for over a year just like this. Lives had been meaninglessly slain and for what? All he could see was two sides brainwashed and indoctrinated by propaganda that demonizes the other side. Each believing that they are the righteous ones, yet none could escape the never-ending cycle of revenge. Each death only fanned the flames of violence, escalating the chaos to its climax.

So, this was what his father wanted to show him. The barbaric nature of humankind.

His entire frame shrunk down into the size of a small bird. With dark wings splayed out, the little critter flew into the sky. He saw what no one else could: the big picture. From a bird's eye view, he sensed every battle and skirmishes occurring throughout the stage. The foul scent of blood, sweat, and gunpowder. The thunderous boom of cannons and gunshots. The sound of splattering blood. The signatures of life vanishing at a continuous rate. Sight, scent, and sound, only he could sense everything all at once, high up in the air, watching civilizations crumble before his eyes.

The bat descended to a village that had already been razed to the ground. Judging by the damage and smoke, a battle had just recently taken place here. He shapeshifted into his human form, a single boy scrutinizing the houses and buildings that was left in wreckage. Shattered windows, collapsed rooftops, crumbled walls, corpses scattered about, patches of fire and smoke, this was the aftermath.

As he wandered about aimlessly, he a felt a grip around his ankle, causing him to flinch. As he casted a glance downwards, he saw a youthful blonde-haired woman whose half of her body was crushed beneath heavy rubbles made of stone and wood. She was bleeding, her breath meek and hoarsely. She looked at the little boy and pleaded. Yet, much to his surprise, she wasn't pleading for her own life. She wasn't begging to be saved, knowing that her life would soon come to an end. "Please," she said desperately with tears in her eyes. "Take care of my daughter."

"Hah!?" He glanced down at her fractiously. "You don't even know who I am. If you care about your daughter so much, then live!" The boy repositioned himself in a low, stable stance; fingers wedged beneath the large stone wall. His arms tensed, redirecting the weight of the stone into his body and straight into the ground. Gritting his teeth, he struggled, slowly lifting the mass by a few inches.

The woman only looked at the boy with half-opened eyes. She was impressed that such a small child could even budge a mass that must have weighed hundreds of kilos. "It's no use," she said meekly. "There's no saving me."

"Shut up! You're alive, aren't you?" He scolded her. "Then don't die!" He raised his voice as his veins bulged out of his arms. Gradually, he heaved the mass further from the ground.

"You're kind," she muttered.

"No, I'm not!" the boy quickly denied her statement. "I'm an assassin; I'm not kind!"

"And yet, you're trying to save me, someone whom you've never met before."

"Grr!" He growled, mustering all his strength to lift the entirety of the stone mass over his head. "I just don't want to deal with your dying wish!" With a sudden burst of force, he hurled the massive stone off to the side, causing it to crumble upon impact.

"Haah… Haah," he panted. But, as he gazed down at the woman who should be freed, his face turned pale. Much of her body had already been crushed. Her bones were likely fractured all over, blood everywhere.

"Please," she murmured under her breath, repeating her words, "Take care of her, my daughter." Then gradually, the light in her cerulean eyes faded away. Her head slowly wilted towards the ground.

"Eh?" His eyes turned solemn, realizing that he was too late to help her. All he could do was silently watch her die, hearing the echoes of her last words in his mind. "I've killed so many people," he spoke to the dead. "You want **me** to take care of your daughter? Sorry, but you got the wrong person. My job is to kill; I'm no babysitter."

Given the dismal state of this village, the chances of her daughter being alive was slim to none. But, checking for survivors in the vicinity was an easy task for him. He closed his eyes and morphed only his human ears into the ears of a bat; the rest of him remained human. He now had a much greater mastery over his devil fruit powers than ever, able to now manifest certain physiological parts at will.

His dark cupped, triangular ears swiveled about, scanning the surroundings for any traces of life. And, to his surprise, he only heard the breath of one person a few blocks away – only one survivor in the entire village.

Hiding in a desolated room, a little girl with long blonde hair, sat in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried. She was in tears, trembling in fright, cowering beneath a table. As soon as she heard footsteps, her hands clenched around her ragged shirt. Her weary eyes spotted a pair of small boots stepping inside, but the tabletop blocked her view of the rest of the trespassing figure.

Several meters away, a little black-haired boy gradually dropped to his knees, lowering himself such that they could make eye contact. He determined that it was best to not get too close, or else, he'd frighten her even more.

"Eh!?" His eyes blinked in surprise, watching the girl immediately scamper out from underneath the table and practically ram straight into him. Perhaps she was relieved to see someone close to her own age. It didn't matter who it was. She simply didn't want to be alone.

"What's your name?" he took the initiative to ask.

She took a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes before looking up at the boy, responding in a timid voice, "… V-Vivio."

"Are you hurt, Vivio?" asked the boy out of concern.

She shook her head.

"That's good. We need to find you a new place to stay."

"I want to find my mama," she then stated her desires.

Pluto looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Your mother is…," he paused. Should he tell her the truth? Or, should he lie? "… probably somewhere safe. Do you know someone outside of this village who can take you in?"

The girl shook her head. There was something about this boy that comforted her; he was clearly a foreigner belonging to neither of the two kingdoms. She noticed that he showed no signs of fear and held a calm, blank expression, yet it was the kind of expression one would wear to hide their weaknesses. His mystic violet eyes seemed to reflect a dark past. He also seemed to have stepped inside, knowing exactly where she was located. And, he had a very realistic pair of cat-like ears on the top of his head. This boy was filled with mysteries.

"Who are you?" Vivio asked inquisitively. It was hard for her to believe that someone so young was acting so independently in a warzone and appear relatively unscathed.

"It doesn't matter who I am," he stood back up and immediately walked away towards the exit without any sign of caution. His boldness surprised the little girl. Anyone with common sense would act more furtively, gazing left and right and all around in a paranoid fashion. Hostility could emerge anywhere at any time. So, why was he so calm?

Pluto turned around, finding the girl traipsing from behind, "What's wrong?"

"I-Isn't it dangerous to step outside?" The blonde asked hesitantly.

The boy gestured towards the ears at the top of his head, "I have very good hearing. No one is nearby. It's just you and me."

Vivio had a look of awe. His hearing ability seemed very convenient to have. "How do you have those ears?"

"I'm a devil fruit user," he told her.

He escorted her to the outskirts of the village, as far away from her mother's grave. As the little girl collapse onto the ground, out of strength to continue walking, he gave her a piggyback ride, carrying her on his back. There was another village nearby, and that was where he took her, a place that remained intact.

…

Spy at day and assassin at night, the eight-year old boy became a crucial key figure to change the tides of this war. At the dusk of night, everyone was blinded by the moonless darkness. No more gunshots or cannons fires could be heard for miles on end. Without a shred of light, the invisible lurker flew, closing in on the cabin. He held his eyes closed and viewed the world through his ears. By sensing how sound interacts with his surroundings, he could sense the shape, depths, and density of his environment. He could smell the earthy soil beneath him and the mossy scent on the trunks. He could smell the men taking shelter in their tents with a faint mixture of gunpowder and blood.

He estimated about two dozen individual breaths being present. Four of them were standing outside, scattered around the perimeters on their night shifts to keep guard. The general was also awake, inside the cabin with one another man. Although the windows were shielded by curtains, a faint dim orange light seeped out into the cold pitch black.

A soldier on his night shift wandered about, aimlessly gazing at his surroundings, unable to make out anything. Few would attack during the night for even the invading forces would struggle to distinguish ally from foe in this thick layer of darkness. He heard beating wings like that of a bird, but considering it was night, it was probably just a bat.

In an instant, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as a blade ran straight through him. Before he could cry out for help or alert his comrades, he was already on the ground as a corpse.

The little assassin roamed through the darkness, ambushing the remaining guards one by one in silence.

Meanwhile, inside the cabin, the General Hammerstein conversed with their newly hired assassin from the West Blue.

The assassin was a tall, muscular man with tanned skin, a squarish jawline and a shaven head. He had a dark thin unibrow, serious face, and thick lips. He wore a dark, sleeveless coat with golden edges, left open at the front, revealing his bare chest and six-pack abdomen. His baggy, grey pants was held up by a slash at his waistline and tucked into his boots with bandage wrappings around his calves.

Suddenly, a knock alerted them.

"Come in," Hammerstein raised his voice.

The wooden door then swung open as a soldier stepped inside. "Sir!" He saluted. "We have trouble. The guards! They've…"

A spray of red interrupted his words. The general gawked as one of his own men was inexplicitly killed right before his eyes. A split second of shock meant an opening to attack. A little shadow swooped across the room before suddenly expanding into demonic, winged figure whose identity was shrouded by a hood and cloak. A small dagger shimmered through the air, reflecting the lamp's soft, orange light.

But, right before the assassination of the general could finish, the assassin from West Blue interrupted the critical blow, blocking the knife with the palm of his hand.

The general gulped. His very own life saved by the newly hired killer who went by the name of Daz Bones.

Pluto quickly leaped back, keeping his distance as he wielded his knife in front of him with a defensive posture. He didn't expect to be intercepted, let alone have the tip of his blade be fended off with a human palm. Something was off. His dagger failed to cut the muscular man. In fact, upon collision, it felt like stabbing an iron surface.

"So, you're the one I'm supposed to kill," the stern-looking brute uttered in a low voice. With a single glance at the little boy, he could quickly grasp the nature of his preternatural power. Those dark leathery wings could immediately be associated to a bat. Using such a power at night was certainly advantageous.

A sudden flap of his wings propelled the hooded boy onwards. Lunging forth with a dagger in his hand, he thrusted forth, stabbing with the tip of his blade towards the man's heart.

"!" His violet-hued eyes widened in shock. The very tip of his knife wavered against the man's dark-skinned torso, unable to pierce through. It felt as if he just tried to stab an iron wall.

The man did not budge an inch, gazing at him with an undaunted glare. There was something off about this man; he smelled like steel.

 _What is this guy!?_

With bladed fingers inches away from his eyes, the boy reflexively ducked to the side at the man thrusted forth his arm. The man's fingers were pointed and edged at the bottom as if they were knives. Jumping straight up, the boy unleashed a rising fist into the man's squarish jawline, knocking his head back. He clenched his teeth and immediately shook his hand out of pain. Even the man's chin felt unusually hard. It felt like he just punched a steel object.

The man quickly recuperated his posture with an unfazed expression, and in a flash, a streak separated the two of them.

Violet-hued eyes watched as blood gushed into the air, obscuring his sight of the man. Then, he realized something; this was his own blood. A large gash went across from his lower right hip to his upper left shoulder. He was perplexed. His opponent was unarmed, carrying no weapon. How did he get sliced? The man had merely kicked upwards. It wasn't until the man lowered his leg back down did he reveal the upper side of his straightened leg possessing a sharp, metal edge.

Stumbling back, Pluto gnashed in foreboding. The fact that he didn't notice any sharp edges on this man's body earlier implies that his opponent could summon these blades at will. Combined with his steel-hard body, he could only come to one conclusion. "You're… a devil fruit user?" he muttered meekly.

"Correct," the man with the iron-hard body replied. "I ate the Supa Supa no Mi. I can turn any part of my body into blades."

This was the Pluto's first time encountering another Devil Fruit user. He deduced that it fell under the Paramecia-class. He also sensed that he was a bad matchup against this man. Martial arts didn't work on him at all. His knife didn't work either. He was completely out of options. How could he fight someone when none of his attacks worked? And, to make things worse, the wound he received was rather serious.

 _I can't win against him._

The Paramecia-user lunged towards the wounded child with his fingers curled into blades. "Begone!" He barked as he swiped across with his arm. His puny opponent leaped back in a zigzagging manner, evading every swing of the man's claws.

Immediately, Pluto leaped back outside into the open night. As the muscular man dashed straight towards him, he morphed into a bat and flew into the darkness with an erratic pattern of flight.

"Tsk!" Daz Bones tensed his unibrow as his elusive prey had managed to escape. With something as small and nimble as a bat flying in the dark woods, he had no chance of pursuing the little runaway.

…

"Haah… Haah," the hooded boy wandered about in the dark woods. He staggered and swayed with a hand covering his wound. At this distance away, he hoped that no one could pursue him. But, he was gradually feeling his consciousness fading. He felt unusually cold. Soon, he collapsed onto his stomach, splayed out onto the ground.


	5. The Wild Card

"Did you get him?" General Hammerstein vigilantly stepped outside, stopping by the doorframe of the cabin. He leered into the dark woods, but the only silhouette he could make out was the man from West Blue. Had it not been for Daz Bones, he may very well have been killed tonight. Even after the reports of soldiers being killed off in the darkest of nights, he didn't expect to be targeted by the mysterious ambusher. The threat was a lot smaller than he expected. Short and nimble, the little assassin had consumed a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.

"No. He got away," the muscular, tanned man said bluntly. "But, he's greatly wounded. He won't be much of a threat."

Hammerstein feared that he was underestimating the enemy a bit too much. Even if the serial ambusher was physically weaker in combat, the environmental factors of the night synergized too well with the kid's nocturnal-based temperament. As regular human beings, soldiers, no matter how strong and skilled, were all sitting ducks without sight. To him, the enemy that struck their camp tonight was still very much a threat, "You better kill him before he recovers."

"Understood," the man with the shaven head replied obediently, taking his duties to heart.

…

Morning.

The air felt smelled oddly refreshing, pure and untainted. Lingering scent of nature soothed him. As soon as the boy opened his eyes, Pluto screamed out of fright, "ARUGGHHH!"

A giant, round face stared at him from above. It wasn't human. Covered in white fur with round black ears, a pair of elliptical black patches around its beady eyes, and a small nose. It was the face of… a bear?

"AHHHH!" The panda yelled in fright, jumping back on its hind legs. The creature landed onto its small spherical white tail. Immediately, the creature spoke up, "Why are you screaming? You scared me!"

The human child immediately leaned up, placing a hand over his racing heart. He accusingly pointed at the rotund creature, "If the first thing I see is a giant bear staring down at me the moment I wake up, of course I'll scream! AND HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO TALK!?"

Nothing made sense anymore!

The black and white ball of fluff quickly stood straight up, defending his ability to speak the human tongue, "Why wouldn't be able to talk!? I'm a panda!"

"That doesn't make any sense! And why are you wearing clothes?" He brought up his next point of confusion as the bipedal panda was wearing a night-blue robe with a dark slash around his waist.

"I don't see you walking around butt naked!" The panda retorted.

The boy sighed, slowly trying to compose himself. With a quick glance around, he was right at the entrance of a cave of some sort with a clear view of the forest in front of him. He was lying down on a rectangular mattress of some sort, but the texture of it didn't feel like any bed he had ever felt. As he tried to recollect his memories of last night, the sensation of being slashed drew his attention towards his torso. Beneath his dark-cyan shirt, a white, adhesive, plushy substance was stuck across his entire wound. "What is this?" Perplexed, he repeatedly touched it, trying to decipher the material. Whatever it was, this material appeared to be made of the same material as the bed he's sitting on, and his bleeding was stopped as a result of his makeshift of a bandage.

The panda raised his paw, answered the question like a well-behaving student would, "Marshmallow!"

"Huh?" The boy raised his head, glaring at the panda in utter confusion. His eyes soon gazed around his surroundings. They were in the middle of nowhere. How could anyone have access to marshmallow of all things? They didn't just grow on trees. "Oh!" He finally understood the answer of all his confusion. There was a perfect explanation that answered all of his questions. Now, he can finally be at peace. "I see! I'm dreaming," he immediately lied back down on his soft, marshmallow bed, closed his eyes, and rolled to the side. "Well, good night, panda."

"B-But it's morning," the bipedal panda tilted his head. He then strode towards the sleeping human boy and raised a paw out to the side. With a giant swipe of his arm, he slammed the boy straight out of his makeshift bed, hurling the kid into the hard, cold ground of reality. "THIS ISN'T A DREAM!" he yelled at the human boy.

"Gah!" the youth rolled on the ground in agonizing pain. Upon recovering, he raised his head with a look of betrayal from his sense of logic, "You mean… you're not just a figure of my imagination!?" He had thought he was just talking to a hallucination constructed by his childish brain. After all, why else would there be a talking, clothed panda along with a marshmallow bed at the border of a cave in the middle of nowhere?

"I'm real, dammit!" The black and white bear childishly flailed his arms to the side in frustration, demanding for his existence to be acknowledged. "You want a taste of my paw smacking attack again?"

The boy stared at the talking bipedal bear with his large, fluffy body. Silently, he scrutinized the creature with pure skepticism. Perhaps he was staring at someone dressed up in a realistic-looking costume. Perhaps, this was just a realistic dream.

"Don't give me that 'he's probably just a costume' look!" The panda expressed his complaint.

The boy widened his eyes in shock.

 _He read my mind!?_

The dichromatic bear pointed straight at the child in an authoritarian fashion. "Listen up, human! My name is Maru; I'm from the Mink Tribe! Show some respect!"

"The Mink Tribe?" Pluto muttered the name to himself. "Never heard of it."

"Hah!? You've never met a mink before?" The one who calls himself Maru took a half step back in surprise.

"Are they… all talking pandas as well?" the boy queried. Was there an entire race of intelligent, talking pandas that he simply did not know about?

"No! We're a tribe of all sorts of talking furred animals! Our home is at Zou!"

"Zou?" he muttered the name to himself. "Never heard of it."

Maru sagaciously crossed his arms as he began to give a short lecture on his home island known as Zou, "It's an ancient civilization on the back of a giant millennium-old elephant that walks across the ocean!"

Pluto blinked at the ludicrous description of Zou. More so than ever, he didn't believe the panda's words. "Okay… now you're just making this up as you go."

"NO!" Maru jumped up and down in frustration. "I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"

"Is your civilization underwater?" Pluto asked skeptically.

"No! It's above the water!" Maru answered without any hesitance.

"But the elephant is walking across the ocean with its feet touching the ocean's floor?"

"Correct!" The panda nodded.

"Well, you do realize that the ocean is more than tens of kilometers deep, right? Are you sure the elephant isn't just walking in a lake?" Pluto brought up his first rebuttal to Maru's claims.

"Yes, I'm sure! The elephant is huge, enough to carry an island on its back! Is that so hard to believe!?"

He paused momentarily before responding, "… Yes! I find that very hard to believe!"

 _Am I seriously having a conversation with a panda who claims to be from a tribe of other talking animals that all lives on the back of an ancient elephant that walks across the ocean? Am I actually not dreaming?_

"What!?" Maru gaped in shock. "Are all you humans this close-minded?" He felt as if everything he explained was perfect common sense that should be renown to everyone.

"Oi!" Pluto furrowed his brows, "I may be only eight-years old, but I'm not so gullible that I'll believe in fairy tales."

"Why you little…!" Maru began stomping his feet onto the ground in frustration. But then, he suddenly calmed down unexpectedly. His head perked up before he waddled around one-eighty and gazed into the forest.

"What's wrong?" Pluto asked curiously, feeling a bit spooked by the panda's immediate change in demeanor.

"Hmm… I sense a presence," Maru said in a serious tone. "Someone is coming."

"Who?" the kid didn't see anyone in the distance despite observing from the exact same angle as the panda. There was nothing but trees and greenery. Granted, in his human form, he lacked the animalistic senses to detect people in the distance, so between the two of them right now, he would trust the Maru's judgement more than his own.

"I don't know," the mink responded in a blunt and carefree manner.

A rustle could be heard nearby. A shadowy silhouette emerged from the ferns and into plain sight. A tall, muscular man with a dark-brown skin tone and a shaved head with light-grey hair. Narrow eyes of a killer, a thin unibrow, a squarish jawline, an oriental sleeveless dark coat with his chest and six-pack completely left bare, not a single scar on his body. This was the very same man who nearly killed the boy last night with a single kick.

"Hello!" Maru whimsically greeted the man with a wave of his paw. "I am so sorry. But pandas are territorial creatures, could you kindly leave us alone?" The intelligent creature politely expressed his desire for this man to leave.

Daz Bones remained silent; his stoic expression slightly fazed at the sight of a talking panda in front of him. But, his notice of the black-haired boy with those mystic violet eyes kept his focus intact. "I'm here to kill that boy. Do not interfere. I take no pleasure in harming animals."

"How kind of you to have a soft spot for us animals. But, why would you want to kill a little…," his words trailed off as he turned his head around, ending his last word with uncertainty, "… boy?" Having completely lost sight of the human boy, his beady eyes were now entranced at a completely different being altogether. A child-like body with leathery, black wings folded behind his back, hands and feet pitch-black with hook-like claws. Triangular, cupped ears on top, and traces of dark-grey fur. Had it not been for those violet-hued eyes, Maru would completely not recognized this transformed figure.

"GAH!" Maru leaped back in shock. "ARE YOU A BAT MINK?" The mink tribe were talking, furred mammals. Although he had never met one himself, there was nothing that forbid the existence of a bat mink for bats are technically furred mammals.

"No! I'm not a mink!" The usually composed Pluto kept losing his rhythm whenever this panda spoke to him. The sheer randomness of Maru's existence made it horrifically hard to focus and concentrate.

Maru watched as the boy stepped out of the cave and into the light. "Oi! You're not thinking about fighting him, are you?" The child that he had just rescued was still injured, not in a ready state for combat.

"Maru, he's dangerous," Pluto warned in a stern voice as he strode towards the man with silent steps. "You should stay back."

"W-What did you just say?" The panda wandered if he heard those words correctly. Was the human boy looking out for him?

"Spar Claw!" Daz Bones lunged forth with his fingers curled up into blades.

"Razor Claw!" Pluto suddenly elongated the claws of his hands, taking on a different shape. Not only were they longer, but the were sharper and more blade-like. Mimicking his opponent's motion, he retaliated.

Bodily blades clashed with one another. The man was taken aback. He didn't think the boy had this trick up his sleeve. His opponent had organic claws, tuned into deadly blades, strong enough to fend off metal blades.

The longer their fight dragged on, the harder it became for the paramecia-user to fight him. Nimble and agile, the winged combatant evaded against the onslaught of swipes and kicks, deflecting attacks only if he had to. He was quickly learning and evolving even in the midst of combat.

Meanwhile, as the boy was preoccupied with a life and death battle, Maru perked his head around the moment he heard a strange, dull, repetitive sound.

"Puru-Puru-Puru-Puru-Puru."

Waddling back into the cave, he scavenged through the boy's belongings which included a vest and a knife. Within the side pocket of the torn protective vest, his paw took out a little snail.

"Puru-Puru-Puru-Puru-Puru," the snail repeated the same monotonous sound.

Without any hesitation, the panda picked up the receiver from the snail's back and held it close towards his face, waiting for a response.

Out from the speaker, a mysterious male voice spoke out, "What's your situation? You haven't reported back to me in a while."

An anxious expression grew on the boy's face as soon as he realized that his father was trying to contact him through his Den Den Mushi. To make matters worse, Maru had already picked up the receiver without permission. "OI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" He immediately bolted for the mink, yelling at him in the process. But, he was abruptly intercepted by a pair of bladed arms clashing against his elongated claws. "Dammit! Get out of my way!"

"You're fight is with me," the muscular figure said sternly, feeling a bit insulted to be ignored by his opponent.

Meanwhile, Maru introduced himself to the stranger on the other end of this line, "Hello! I'm a panda. Do you wanna be friends?" He spoke in the most lighthearted, playful, friendly tone possible.

Silence.

While warding off the paramecia-user, Pluto held a flabbergasted expression at what Maru had just said to his cold, unfeeling, stern, pragmatic father. Maru's personality contrasted so greatly that not even the son could predict how his father would react to this situation. Everything was thrown out of whack thanks to this mink. The boy, who held the reigns to the tide of this war, who could usually predict his opponent's next strategic move, had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. This panda was simply way too unpredictable, a complete wildcard.

"…, Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Maru, and I am the world's strongest panda."

"…," a long pause. "I'm going to ask you one question. And, if you give any more childish remarks, I am going to kill you. Where is Pluto?"

"Pluto? What's that? Is it food?" Maru tilted his head in confusion.

"Alright, that's it! I'm heading over there myself," the conversation ended with the man on the other side of the line hanging up.

"Oh goody! I get to meet him face to face!" The mink then placed the recovered back onto the snail's shell.

"OH! GOD DAMMNIT, MARU!" Pluto yelled in rage as he continuously deflected and countered against his opponent's rapid assaults. "Guh!" He slipped up. A bladed hand swiped across his chest, drawing out blood from his body.

 _Damn it! If I don't focus, this guy is going to kill me. But, I still have no way of damaging him. None of my attacks work on him. What am I supposed to do against someone like this?_

His opponent was physically stronger and definitely much more durable. His claws would screech across the man's steel-like surface, unable to even leave a mark on the body. All he could do was defend. He parried with his claws, but that left him open to a knee ramming into his stomach and hurling his entire body away.

"Arugh!" His slammed against a tree trunk, leaving dent in the wood. Cornered and trapped, the bladed human sprinted forth for the killing blow. The best the boy could do was raise his arms defensively, embracing for the worst.

Then suddenly, a white ball unexpectedly smacked the man in the face, blinding him. After halting to a complete stop, Daz Bones removed the soft, plushy object off his face before visually retracing the trajectory back to the thrower.

"You! Strange metal human," Maru called out to him. "This is my territory. You are not welcome here."

While the man was distracted, Pluto splayed out his wings and ascended skyward, distancing himself away from the threat.

"Tch!" The man gritted his teeth. His prey being airborne only made it that much harder to kill him. Shifting his eyes towards the talking bear, he placed the fault to this animated stuffed animal, "Don't get in my way," Daz Bones warned the panda. "It is my mission to kill this boy."

Casually pacing towards him, Maru stared with his beady eyes while being completely unarmed with any form of weaponry. "The sword is just an extension of the body," he quoted a cliché saying. "But in your case, the sword **is** the body."

Pluto warned with wheezing breaths, "Stay back, Maru! …Physical attacks won't work on him!"

"My, my, I sure am being underestimated today," the panda widened his stance, slowly readying his paws in a defensive posture. Then, in an instance, he blurred for a short interval of time. A spark of electricity emitted from his right paw. In a flash, Maru slammed his fist deep into his opponent's torso which should be made of steel, yet the muscular man's composed expression shifted to a disgruntled look.

Pluto gaped; his eyes glued to the scene of the Paramecia-user being hurled across the air and crashing into several trees which soon toppled over by the sheer force. Giant logs of wood crashed into the ground like dominos, causing the entire ground to reverberate.

"Ugh," the bladed human coughed up blood as his back was pressed up against a pile of sliced up trunks. The trees were all sliced up right before his body made impact, reducing the physical repercussion. Nevertheless, he was clearly fazed by the panda-mink's assault. Not a single swordsman had ever been able to put a scratch on his body, yet a mere punch could harm him? This was unprecedented. Furthermore, the mink had a strange ability to channel electricity into his paw, electrifying him the moment of being struck. With a body more conductive than normal, he was more susceptible to electrical attacks.

Stumbling about, the assassin from West Blue gradually recuperated. Never mind the boy, he concluded that this panda was more dangerous. The first rule of assassination was to kill off the weak, but with the mink protecting the boy, he might just have to kill off the panda first. With his arms straightened out at his sides, the man quickly sprinted towards the black and white bear, ready to attack.

"What an arrogant fighter," Maru muttered to himself before noting the weakness of his opponent. "So accustomed to his 'invincible' body that he no longer makes any effort for defending himself." His right paw suddenly transitioned from black to white as a malleable substance bloomed out at a rapid rate, forming into a giant arm that extends beyond his extremity. A giant paw-shaped hand stretched out, grabbing the man who rammed straight into the wave of white fluff. The substance was light, carrying very little weight. It wrapped around, grabbing the man's entire body.

With a stunned expression, Pluto blurted out, "You're a Devil Fruit user?" It all made sense now. The marshmallow was all just a byproduct of a Devil Fruit power.

"Yes, I ate the Maro Maro no Mi. I'm a Marshmallow Panda."

"Humph," the bladed human effortlessly sliced his way to freedom. "What a ridiculous ability," he remarked. As someone who can slice through stone and concrete, cutting through marshmallow was like cutting through air. He hardly felt any resistance at all.

"Human," Maru addressed the man in a serious tone. "Anything can be dangerous if used in the hands of a master." His right hand suddenly emitted a bright dazzling white light of buzzing electricity.

"Golden Brown!" the white marshmallow that extended past the panda's arm quickly changed color, becoming crispy light-brown. The giant, malleable hand reached out, grabbing the man once again.

"Tsk!" Daz Bones furrowed his unibrow as he was being uplifted straight up into the air. Unlike before, he found himself being able to escape. He couldn't free himself. This brownish substance was gooey and sticky; he couldn't move his arms or legs to execute any slicing motion.

Pluto watched in awe, realizing what was happening. The panda ingeniously combined his electrical ability to heat up his marshmallow, turning the white, soft substance into a warm, brown gooey, sticky blob to encapsulate his foe.

With a backwards swing of his arm, Maru whipped his massive golden arm back, swinging the suspended man in an arc. "Begone, human! Do not come back!" He warned in a threatening tone before motioning an overhead swing of his arm, whipping the golden appendage forward.

"Grr! Damn you!" The bladed human was then launched at a forty-five-degree angle. The grip of the molten marshmallow detached from the arm, binding his body in a sticky casing as he helplessly soared into the far distance.

The Zoan-user morphed back into his human state while clenching the bloodied wound of his chest. He was utterly dumbfounded.

This panda was deceptively strong.

But, with Pluto's father soon coming into this scene, what was going to happen if these two meet?


	6. Friendship

Nighttime. A campfire illuminated the darkness with a fiery orange light. Wavering smoke faded into the starry black heaven. Side by side, the human child and the panda mink lied on their backs, staring at the glittering, twinkling stars in the sky. They breathed in the natural cool night air while soaking in the warmth from the flames. Isolated from the war, they were blessed by silence and peace.

Skeletons of fish remained on little wooden sticks. Two empty cups and a teapot sat near the campfire. The mink and the human had shared a meal together. They had tea together. Before they even realized it, they became friends. After spending the day of hanging out with the panda-mink named Maru, things felt less awkward than before. Despite belonging to different races, they quickly adapted to their differences, especially the boy who had never met a mink before. Maru, on the other hand, had already met many humans in the past, but he had never met a human who had Pluto's patience for listening to others. All the humans who have met the talking bear would react in either fear or hostility. That was why hardly anyone would enter the woods. This region of the forest became a neutral zone where neither side of the war dared to trespass, and as such, the mink rarely had visitors.

"I see," the talking panda uttered while staring off into the clear night sky. He had heard everything from the boy after exchanging their pasts with one another. He learned about Pluto's upbringing. Learning to fight from a very young age was what all minks learned to do, but it was rare for humans to share that tradition. But, unlike the minks, the boy had to kill his own kind, his own people, his own species. His training was far more cruel and wicked. To be locked in a cell with a deranged prisoner and having to kill said prisoner with his own bare hands against his own will, repeating that every day would truly mess up a child's mind.

Then why? After going through all that, why didn't this child seem evil?

"You didn't have a choice, right?" asked the mink. "You were forced to become a killer."

"No," the boy declined; his eyes gazing at the same mystic sky as the mink. "I had a choice," he spoke softly and gently in a mellow tone.

"Hm?" Maru hummed to himself, confused. "Pluto," he used the boy's name which he had recently learned. "Why did you become an assassin?" Did the boy kill out of hatred for humankind? Did he seek power just for the sake of power? If he had a choice the whole time, what was his motive for walking down the path of carnage?

There was a moment of silence before the kid spoke, "To protect my little sister."

The panda lowered his jaw ever so slightly, not expecting such a response. He didn't know the boy had a sibling; the kid hadn't mentioned a sister until now.

The child continued, "Had I refused to become an assassin, my sister would've taken my place."

"What do you mean by that?" the mink asked for clarification.

"For generations, my family have secretively passed down the art of killing to the next heir – usually the first son. The heir would learn to kill from a very young age and grow up to become a human weapon. That is what my father went through, and I am next in the line. If I refuse to take up on this role, my sister would then be the next heir, and I cannot allow that. I'd rather stain my own hands in blood than allow her to become a soulless killing machine."

"I see," Maru closed his eyes. "But, is this really alright with you? Are you just going to live out the rest of your life being someone that you don't want to be?"

"There is someone I must kill," his eyes narrowed, filled with determination. "Once that man is dead, I will be freed from this heritage. Then, I will quit being an assassin and reunite with my sister. We can then live a peaceful life together. That is my wish."

"The man that you speak of…," the mink turned his head to the side, gazing at the little boy curiously. "… is he…?"

The child nodded.

Rather suddenly, Maru sat up with an upright spine. His beady eyes leered into the darkness; he felt a thick miasma lingering in the air.

Bloodlust. Malice.

Someone had trespassed his territory, someone with an incredible amount of spirit. That someone was closing in on them little by little, not even trying to hide his presence.

"Speak of the devil," the panda mink muttered. Even though he had never met this man before, there was no mistaking it. He saw a dark silhouette closing in, a humanoid figure wearing a dark cloak, a hood shadowing the face.

A powerful voice projected towards the boy lying flat on his back, "Pluto!"

"!" Pluto quivered; a wave of trepidation washed over him. The presence was undeniable.

His father had arrived.

Slowly, the boy clambered onto his legs, standing upright. Maru stood up as well.

"A mink?" the enigmatic man murmured.

Pluto found it curious that his father knew about the minks. Were the minks an actual race? Was Zou real?

Widening his stance, Maru raised his arms defensively, "Human! You do not belong here."

"Hm?" The cloaked figure strode onward. "And? Are you saying that the boy beside you belongs here?"

"Yes!" The panda roared, "Pluto is my friend!"

The child widened his eyes, shifting his head towards the mink in surprise. Those were not words that ought to be uttered in front of his father, but for some reason, he couldn't help but feel happy to have heard him say that.

"Friend?" The hooded figure repeated the word as if he was new the term, "Is this true, Pluto?"

"Uh…," the boy was at a loss for words.

"Allow me to remind you," the man continued to stride closer and closer as he speaks; his hands hidden in his side pockets. "Assassins cannot have friends. The concept of alliances is indeed powerful for collective strength, much like the two armies clashing in this war. But you are a killer, a being who will betray his friends or be betrayed. You are not trustworthy, and you should not trust others. You'll either backstab and be backstabbed. Listen well, Pluto. In the same sense that emotions are a weakness, friendship is also a weakness."

Clenching his black paws, the bipedal bear growled, "What nonsense are you blabbering about, human?"

"Then allow me to demonstrate," the man suddenly dashed towards the boy with killing intent. The fingers of his hand straightened out like a spear, ready to thrust out and pierce. In a fraction of as second, he closed the distance between them.

In that instant, Maru leaped in front of the boy, guarding the child against the malicious aura aimed at the son. But the hooded man quickly changed direction, engaging at an angle to the panda's flank. The mink realized that he was too late; the initial assault towards the boy was merely a feint to bait him. A strong side kick slammed into his guard, launching his entire body into the far distance like a rocket.

"ARUGH!" Maru gritted his teeth as he crashed straight through a tree trunk which soon toppled over.

"Do you understand now, mink?" The man voiced his thoughts in a calm and composed demeanor, "Because you cared for your friend, you sacrificed your own defense for his sake. You became weak in the instant of wanting to protect him. It's fine to have allies as tools, but friendship implies an attachment. And when that attachment gets used as bait, you become your enemy's puppet."

The man then turned towards the boy, "What will you do when your 'friends' get taken as hostages? Will you act purely on your emotions and run into your own demise, trying to play the hero? Or will you sacrifice them for the sake of victory?"

The son remained silent. He couldn't act or speak up against his father; he wasn't strong enough. As much as hated himself for it, he couldn't help but agree with him. But even still, he could never abandon his little sister. Even if it meant having a weakness, he would always protect Rebecca. He needed the mental fortitude to fend off against his father's brainwashing; he refused to become a heartless killer.

Maru burst out of the pile of splintered wood with his paws skywards, "Don't listen to him, Pluto! Friendship gives you something to value and treasure. Something to fight for. If you sacrifice everything for strength, then what the hell is the point of being strong in the first place? What the hell will you be fighting for?"

The boy pondered. He had never considered that perspective before. Wouldn't sacrificing the cause for strength defeat the whole purpose of being strong to begin with?

 _Something to fight for? That's right. Being strong will be so hollow and empty without a purpose to use it. I see. Protecting Rebecca for the sake of her happiness is my purpose for becoming stronger._

The dichromatic bear sprang into action. A single leap launched him straight towards the man who kicked him. "Marshmallow Armor!" A pure white soft substance encased his entire body from head to toe, taking shape and form as a traditional suit of armor. Only his head was revealed, and even that part of his body was armored by a soft warrior-themed helmet. His right armored paw and forearm suddenly turned pitch black, glossy and shimmering under the campfire's light. A spark of light dazzled from his paw. "Electro!"

Similarly, the man revealed his right hand out from his pocket which turned black in the very same manner. "Pluto was born to be a human weapon," he responded before the two of them clashed their fists head on, erupting a shockwave from the point of impact.

"Urgh!" The little boy was hurled away by the powerful pressure wave; he then tumbled across the grass, completely dazed by the sheer power that these two combatants possessed. "W-What just happened?" He wasn't even the one participating in this fight, yet he couldn't even stand his ground before these two fighters.

"What the - ?" Maru was baffled. His opponent's fist was also discharging electricity as well, neutralizing his own. Was this man using Electro? But that was impossible; only minks could use such a skill.

The cloaked man continued, "… and weapons are meant to be used by others. Assassins are not vigilantes who fight for a cause. They are merely tools to be used by whoever hires them much like how the king has hired us to change the tides of this war to his favor."

"In that case," the panda mink bulked up the encasing around his left arm. Shooting out his giant left fist, coated in black, his arm stretched out. "Being an assassin suck!"

The man vanished from sight the instant the giant fist was about the connect. The panda decisively shifted his head, knowing exactly his opponent's location despite the blinding speed.

"The boy has unfathomable talent in the art of killing," the man commended his son's aptitude. "It'll be an utter waste to not nurture him to his fullest potential."

"Talented or not," Maru enlarged his other arm before hurling it at the man, "What he becomes is not for you to decide!" Once again, the man disappeared.

Maru ducked down, evading a kick swung at him from behind. The two of them briefly clashed in close-range combat, but the assassin's speed was beyond what the mink could manage. Several punishing blows landed; had it not been for his plushy armor to cushion each strike, he would have been on the verge of defeat by now.

"Even if I do not guide him, it will not change his destiny. His temperament will lead him down the path of carnage."

"Temperament?" Maru disagreed. "Does that little boy look like a killing monster to you?"

"The real monster is asleep within him, and once he experiences true pain, his inner demon will awaken."

"!" The panda perked his head up in reaction to a peculiar, high-frequency sound. He heard a voice, loud and clear. Someone was talking to him in a very high-pitched voice.

"Don't respond to me," the mysterious voice warned. "I am speaking to you through ultrasound. Since you're a panda, I suspected that you could hear higher frequencies than humans. My father shouldn't be able to hear me."

Clever.

Pluto, who transformed into his hybrid state, was communicating at a frequency that only certain animals could pick up. Humans had no chance of detecting this sound.

"I will tell you the secrets of my father's abilities. By converting his muscles into fast-twitch fibers, he can drastically increase his speed and power. But, it comes at a cost. By my estimates, he is limited to only ten bursts of motion. He'll use the first eight bursts of motion to engage and attack you, then use the remaining two as a safety measure to retreat when in trouble. But after ten consecutive bursts, he'll need to recharge his stamina for a few seconds. That is the opening for you to strike."

As useful as this information was, it was extremely awkward to be receiving audible instructions. Maru's intuition led him to believe that anything he hears can be heard by others, yet his opponent wasn't reacting at all by the blatantly loud, high-pitched voice emitted by the bat-human. As bizarre as it was, this man really couldn't hear the voice. Moreover, the ability to hear higher frequencies decline among humans as they age. Given that this man is a full-grown adult, it was only that much more reassuring to believe that this cloaked assassin couldn't hear a thing.

The panda mink leaped into the air, channeling his Electro into both of his paws. "Golden Brown!" Massive globs of molten marshmallow showered out from his paws, raining down like a meteor shower.

With minimal movements, the man leaped away from the first couple of globs that splattered against the grassy ground, but it wasn't long until he realized the true aim of this technique. This wasn't an attack that was meant to hit him; it was meant to restrict his speed. The entire open plain of the woods soon became glittered with these sticky patches of melted marshmallow. This speedster of a man would not be able to move so freely now.

The hooded assassin dashed onward, hopping from one open patch to the next and zigzagging his way towards his opponent. Nimble and swift, the assassin used his high-burst of speed at the last few strides while sliding out a short sword out from his right sleeve where his hand gripped upon the handle.

An ultrasonic voice forewarned the panda of the dangers to come, "Do not get hit by that blade! It's both made of Kairōseki and coated in poison. One clean hit from that sword, and it's game over." There were many reasons for Pluto to avoid fighting against his father. Even ignoring the insurmountable gap between their physical prowess, his father had some very troublesome tools, and that black sword was a nightmare for devil fruit users to fight against.

Yikes! Maru hopped back like a frightened rabbit, evading each swing of that deadly sword as the pursuer chases him down across the sticky terrain. Kairōseki and poison, he couldn't help but mentally protest at how overkill that combination seemed.

Suddenly, the man halted without warning, standing idly still. His left hand suddenly revealed a scabbard hidden in his long, baggy sleeve, and his next motion was sheathing his sword completely.

"!?" Both the mink and the boy watched with a perplexed visage; both asking the exact same question to themselves. Why did this man sheathe his sword?

The assassin flickered forth with blinding speed, quick drawing his sword for a swift horizontal slash aimed to chop off the opponent's head off.

The panda, armored with marshmallow, reflexively ducked as the black blade whistled over his head. In that instant, the mink saw a clear opening to attack, but in that instant, the enemy's sheath was directed straight at his face. Then, out from the small opening of the scabbard, a jet of dark-colored gas shot out, quickly expanding into a puff of smoke.

"ARUGH!" Maru cried out as he was engulfed in a cloud of darkness. Repeatedly, he coughed. His paws covering his face, but he knew that it was too late. He breathed some of the gas in.

Stupefied, Pluto watched with a dumbfounded look, "I didn't know he can do that!" Poisonous gas hidden within the sheath? Even he didn't know his father had such a trick up his sleeve. Just how many dirty tricks did this man have? Even with the knowledge of the Kairōseki-forged blade, the entire sword itself was merely a feint, a sleight of hand that lures the attention away from the real threat: the scabbard. With a high tolerance to the poison, his father could use it at close range without harming himself in the process.

Deception was the fundamental nature of an assassin. In addition to being an accomplished martial artist, his father had an arsenal of such cunning little tricks. The honest warrior was doomed to lose against someone like him because assassins do not play fair. As his father would always say: 'in an unfair world, why should I play fair?' There were no rules in fighting. Any form of code of honor was a foolish philosophy in his view. Lie, cheat, deceive, betray, assassin would use any means necessary to complete their mission.

This was the man that Pluto must to kill. This was who he must take down to break away from his destiny.

With his back turned towards his fallen foe, the hooded man sauntered away. "Come," he ordered, and without hesitance, his son glided across the field with his dark wings, landing at the man's flank.

"Wait!" The panda mink collapsed onto the ground after stepping out of the toxic smog. "I'm… not done yet!" He was wheezing with every breath, on his hands and knees, barely able to sustain his posture. Even when debilitated, the warrior from Zou wasn't going to back down by such cheap tricks.

"It's over," said the man who continued to walk away, not even acknowledging his opponent with eye contact. "The poison can kill an ordinary human within seconds. But on a mink of your size and strength, it'll likely take minutes." As he strode away, the winged child followed by his side; his face blank, deprived of any emotion. But his hands clenched at his side.

He felt guilt.

Because of him, Maru was going to die. The boy shouldn't have allowed this to transpire. He knew that something like this would happen, yet he did nothing to stop it. The mink, who saved his life, treated his wound, and protected him, was going to die after showing so much kindness to him. All he can imagine was how much regret the mink probably had right now. Regret to have ever met him, to have ever helped him. The panda's kindness was wasted on him, even costing him his own life.

Meanwhile, the mink clenched onto what little strength he had left, starring at the boy who's walking away from him.

He failed.

"Haah… Haah… Haah," Maru panted, catching his breath as he lied on his stomach. Tears rolled down his beady eyes. He coughed up blood. Riddled with injuries and wounds, his black and white coat of fur was bloodied. To fulfill the boy's wish, the mink warrior had decided to kill that 'someone' himself, but that man proved to be too powerful.

"PLUTO!" Maru shouted at the top of his lungs, mustering his remaining breaths to speak vehemently. "SAY IT! SAY THAT WE'RE FRIENDS!"

With furrowed brows, the boy turned around, glaring him harshly. In a fraction of a second, he flickered across the distance between them.

"!" The father widened his eyes. Just now, his son had just utilized superhuman-level speed, an unprecedented feat. There was only one explanation. His son had just learned how to convert his muscles into fast-twitch fibers. But, to be able to learn that skill from such watching his movements in combat, his son must truly carry a great deal of talent. He had only installed the foundation of the fighting art into the boy, but the kid was already starting to figure out the advanced techniques without his guidance. The nature of their fighting style was manipulating the body itself.

The boy grabbed the bear by the mouth before lifting the creature partially upwards until they saw each at eye level. "Shut up! You're annoying," the eight-year old scolded the panda with a cold, detached glare. "It's as my father says: I don't have friends, and I don't need them."

"MMM?" Maru couldn't speak with the boy's hand sealing his mouth shut. He felt something going down his throat. The next thing he heard was Pluto speaking to him through ultrasound, words that the child did not want his father to hear.

"I'm sorry," the little human child apologized, softening his expression. "I need to put on an act. But, thank you, Maru, for being my friend. Don't fight anymore. Leave it to me. I will get stronger and kill him with my own two hands."

After that, the Zoan-user spoke in his regular voice, sounding apathetic and cruel, "Goodbye, mink from Zou."

With the release of the boy's grip, Maru collapsed onto the ground, limp and motionless. As the two humans walked away, a soft smirk formed on his face. He only knew the human boy for a short period of time, but Pluto was the first human friend he had ever made. How long, he wondered. How long had this boy been putting on this façade and fooling his own father?

Gradually, he felt his condition improving. That sly, little boy had slipped something into his mouth, and now he knew what it was: an antidote.

Maru's life was saved by that human boy.


	7. Wrath

Pluto – Age 9

Groggily, he opened his eyes to see a wooden ceiling over his head as he lied flat on his back. Immediately, he felt a pair of eyes glaring at him from the side. As he turned his head, he found a little blonde girl kneeling at his bedside with her hands pressed up against the edge. Her large, innocent eyes looked at him curiously, appearing like a pair of blue gems that sparkled under the dim, candle light in the room.

"A-Are you okay?" Vivio asked with a concerned expression on her face, clearly worried about him. This was her eighth time of seeing him. For the past several months, this boy would occasionally lurk around these parts of the village for a brief while, and every time she searched for him, he would mysteriously vanish. She had always wanted to interact with him again but never got the chance to approach him without magically losing sight of him.

With a shift of his eyes, Pluto found himself bandaged up; white wrappings coiling around his right bicep. "Did you do this?" asked the child. His memories were fuzzy, vaguely recalling himself fainting from exhaustion after relentless fighting in this war from the shadows. He remembered being in a rush, haphazardly trying to reach this village as fast as he could. But he had pushed himself too hard, and now, he was confronted with the one person he had been avoiding for quite a while now.

The tender youth shook her head, "The old lady of this house bandaged you up." For the time being, it was just the two of them in this shabby little house with no old lady around.

"I see," he closed his eyes. "But, the one who found me was you, wasn't it?" He had been consistently visiting this village, monitoring its condition. And, secretly, he wanted to make sure this girl was alright. Vivio was the last survivor when her home village was raided by the enemy's forces. He was the one who brought her here but had been uncertain as to who was taking care of her this entire time. It would seem an elderly woman fulfilled that role and took the girl in.

"Yes," she nodded, having been the one who discovered the boy lying in a puddle of his own blood outside the street.

"Sorry to be a bother," he apologized with a grim expression.

Vivio shook her head, "I'm happy to see you again."

"Don't be," he warned her. "It would be best for you to not get involved with someone like me."

"Why?" She asked with a saddened tone. So, it was true that he had been avoiding her then.

"Because I'm dangerous."

The girl frowned, "But I like being with you."

"No, you're just desperate. You simply don't want to be alone, and I happened to be the only one close to your age."

The girl blinked, not entirely understanding what he just said. But then, she gave her own answer, "I like you because you're kind." Those words drew in the boy's attention.

He had heard that word before: kind. Someone had told him that exact same thing; Vivio's mother had used that word. "You're wrong!" He rejected the word. "I'm not kind at all!" How could he be? He had killed so many people whom he knew nothing about. In war, the deaths of people became a mere statistic; the human heart simply cannot tolerate the accumulation of thousands of deaths simultaneously. A number so large that no one can really fathom the extent of the atrocity committed. As such, he couldn't even feel mourning for his contribution to the body count; he was just a miniscule entity taking part in his grandiose slaughtering festival that the two kingdoms decided to have. How could a killer like him be 'kind'?

"You found me all alone, walked with me, and gave me a piggyback ride," she began to list out the deeds. "You could have just abandoned me like everyone else, but you didn't." When her village was raided, all everyone could think of was to run away or hide. No one cared about helping others; they only cared for their own lives. She was so scared back then, thinking that no one would help her. And even when the raid came to an end, no one even bothered to come back to find her. This boy, who had never met her before, helped her when she was at the pit of despair.

Pluto remained speechless, a bit surprised that she remembered all that. He assumed that all the trauma-inducing events that made up this large-scale war would drown away such trivial gestures. But, Vivio remained ignorant of his darker side, the side of him that takes away lives. She only knew the side of him that helped her, and thus, she was confusing him to be an ally.

Vivio leaned closer; her heart fluttering at the thought of getting to speak to him. "What happened to your ears?" She pointed out the lack of animal ears on the top of his head. Instead, she saw that he had normal human ears at the side of his head. She almost seemed disappointed.

"Eh?" He blinked. Now that he thinks about it, when they first met, he had selectively transformed his bat ears to keep him alerted of his surroundings while appearing to be mostly human. Partial transformation was a more advanced skill that he gained through honing his sense of his own body. "Um…," he looked away, avoiding eye contact. "D-Do you want me to have those ears?"

The girl nodded eagerly.

"Uh…, fine. I'll guess I can entertain you," he grumbled, and in a split second, his ears rapidly morphed towards the top of his head, taking on a pair of dark, furred, triangular, cup-shaped bat ears.

Vivio reached out her hand halfway; her eyes staring at him in awe, "C-Can I touch them?"

Pluto narrowed his eyes, a bit annoyed at how he was being treated. And due to his silence, the girl simply went ahead and rubbed his ears in between her fingers. Furrowing his brows, the boy looked onward with a grumpy expression plastered on his face.

 _Why do I feel like a puppy right now?_

The little girl petted his head and rubbed his heads as if he was some exotic animal from the zoo.

"!" His eyes suddenly turned cold and serious.

The blonde girl quickly retracted her arm, wondering if she did something wrong. "W-What's wrong?"

His ears twitched and swiveled. The galloping sound of horses. Swords cleaving through flesh and blood. The screams, groans, and cries of villagers. No. Not again. Was this village going to be razed into oblivion as well?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Open up!" A demanding voice called out from the other side of the door.

Vivio swiveled her head around, startled.

"Go ahead. You can open the door," the boy granted her permission to do so which installed the girl enough confidence to walk over and turn the doorknob.

As soon as the wooden door opened, three enemy soldiers towered before the little girl who shrunk back out of fright. The outside chaos could now easily be heard.

The leading figure beckoned his two comrades in arms, "Search the house!" Two of them at his flank were the first to rush in, and the leader followed from behind. One of them bumped into the girl's shoulder, causing her to fall onto the floor, "Ugh!"

Vivio panicked; her eyes quickly shifting towards the bed only to find it empty. Dumbfounded, she scanned around the room, searching for the boy who was just here seconds ago, but it was as if the child had just vanished into thin air. There were no other possible exits. The windows remained closed shut, so he couldn't have slipped out there. How did he keep doing that? How was this boy so skilled at vanishing into thin air?

The three soldiers converged together, conversing with one another.

"Find anything?"

"Nothing. It doesn't seem like the Black Wing is being sheltered here either."

"Wait!" One of the gestured towards the open door, pointing at nothing. "The girl is gone!"

Immediately, the three bolted back outside and fanned out, pointing their rifles at various angles in search for the girl.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop of the house that they exited, Vivio found herself leaning on the boy's shoulder. An index finger placed her lips, gesturing her to stay silent. She was completely bewildered by how the boy managed to seemingly relocate them both in an instant. She only remembered a hand covering her mouth before being scooped up. Not long after that, she found herself up here on the rooftop, supported by the boy's arms.

She heard one of the soldiers uttering the phrase 'Black Wing'. Were they searching for him? Was the Black Wing here in this village? According to hearsay, the Black Wing was a demon that lurked at night, killing off soldiers at their camps with ease. But it was morning now, so why would they be searching at this time?

Pluto gritted his teeth, realizing his grave mistake.

 _They're looking for me!? These villagers are being dragged out and beaten because of me? They think someone is sheltering me?_

This was all his fault. He shouldn't have come to this village. His presence here had just summoned the plague. There was only one way to try and remedy this. This went against everything he was taught. An assassin should never do this under normal circumstances, however… he had no choice. He needed to entice the attention of all the soldiers onto him. If it's him that they want, then he must present himself clearly to them. Then, he can gradually lure their forces away from this village.

Immediately, an extra pair of appendages branched from his shoulder socket before splaying out fully, revealing his leathery wings. His hands and feet morphed into pitch-black claws.

Startled, Vivio gawked at the bat-human hybrid. It was at that point she realized the truth: this boy was the Black Wing. She was lowered down until she was resting against the rooftop, and immediately, the boy soared skyward, appearing as a dark shadow in the grey clouded sky.

Countless of soldiers looked up above; their attentions were indeed captivated. The Zoan-user quickly descended straight down, and the armed warriors were quick to converge towards his location.

With a flicker of his wings, he unleashed a duel outburst of wind from both of his flanks, "Aerial Crash!" A wall of pressurized air bulldozed the crowds of warriors away. The enemy formation had been broken; scattered soldiers weaved through the gaps to engage up close.

The battle between the Black Wing and an army of soldiers had begun. The nimble little assassin abandoned his usual methods of stealth. He hurled several grown men across a vast distance, showcasing his superhuman strength. By flaunting his abilities, he made himself the top priority for the enemy to take down. His movements were swift and sharp. Each strike carrying an unexpected heaviness for such a small-framed body. Surrounding him was difficult. He strategically used one opponent as a shield against another man's attack. He could redirect any incoming assaults with coiling movements, channeling his opponents' forces straight back at them. Whenever he manipulated their joints, soldiers would find themselves hurling across air, spinning and crashing into their comrades. If he had the chance the touch anyone's wrist and elbow, they would find their arms snapped or dislocated.

A gunshot sounded.

Pluto's eyes quickly shifted back at where he had left the girl. Everything moved in slow motion when he realized that Vivio was shot! Her little body fell off the rooftop, plummeting towards the ground.

"VIVIO!" He screamed! With a swift propulsion of his wings, the boy dashed towards the falling girl, catching her in his arms right before she could hit the ground. His eyes quivered at the sight of blood oozing from the hole in her abdomen.

 _Why…?_

The blonde looked up with half-opened eyes, staring at her dark savior. She was grateful to have met him. "Thank you…," she muttered. "Black Wing." The closest thing to a name she could give to this otherwise nameless boy.

 _Why?_

Why did she thank him? The reason she was dying right now was because of him. If he had stayed away from this village, she could have been spared. She wasn't a soldier; she was just a feeble little girl trying to survive in this cruel world.

Footsteps of soldiers rushed towards him from all sides, rushing with swords and bayonets. They encircled the half-human, surrounding him completely.

But Pluto couldn't hear them. The whole world was just a background noise. His consciousness began to implode, detaching itself from the distractions. His senses hyper-focused on the dying girl who rested in his arms as he kneeled on the ground in despair. He hated himself. He blamed himself. He hated the world for its injustice. He hated the soldiers around him, constantly killing and killing and killing. He hated his fate for having to take part in this.

He hated himself for being unable to shed a single tear for this girl who believes that he had saved her. He can hear it now, his father's voice, telling him not to get attached to anyone. Friendship was a weakness, a bait that turns one into the enemy's puppet. Maru almost died. And now, Vivio was going to die. Everyone close to him was dying because of him. He caused all of this. His existence was a curse.

He can hear it, her heartbeat, slowly fading, growing quieter and slowly. Her breath stopping. Her body; her skin turning just a little bit paler with each passing second. No matter how much he pressed on the wound, it simply didn't work; the blood kept on spilling. His hands were drenched in red.

The soldiers inched closer and closer, their weapons just a few feet away from contact. But then…

A surge of murderous rage exploded! A dominating spirit filled with bloodlust and malice washed over the entire village until it was palpable.

Silence.

Every soldier, man and woman, people of all ages, halted their action as if time had frozen. For a moment, no one moved; they were like statues. Until gravity swayed them, their bodies began to tilt and fall in a limp, corpse-like state. Hundreds of them, both invaders and villagers, collapsed where they once stood.

A man in the far-out distance cried out in terror, "W-What!? What is this!?" No matter where he looked, the ground was filled with unconscious, motionless bodies, indiscriminate in whether they were friend or foe.

Few of them remained standing, and those who were strongminded enough to keep their sanity were far enough where the invisible, yet tangible wave of rancor that washed over was diluted enough to spare them. Every cell in their body screamed at them; shouting at the presence of danger. Instinct guided them, warning them about the source of bloodlust.

Meanwhile, a cloaked hooded figure was standing on the hills that bordered the village; he had been watching the chaos that unfolded. "So…, the monster has finally awakened. Who would have thought that he had such a rare power within him? Haoshoku Haki, only one in several millions of people are born with that power."

Elsewhere, a soldier suddenly gestured towards the sky, "General! Up there! What is that!?"

All eyes casted their gaze towards the heavens where a black shadow hovered over the village. Demonic wings splayed out menacingly with sharp extrusions from each finger-like bone. Claws and feet were pitch-black, each finger and toe resembling a black, hook-like blade. Its face was hidden by the shadow casted by its hood. A sinister and wrathful glare gleamed out in the color of violet, filled with animosity.

General Hammerstein gaped at the creature up above. It was like looking at an entity straight from hell. Under his breath, he stuttered, "B-Black… Wing." Without a doubt in his mind, he labeled this monster as the sole culprit behind every nightly ambush that has occurred thus far. He remembered the night of when he first saw the boy with those devilish wings, but this airborne thing was different. Its claws and wings were riddled with bladed spikes that extruded past the norm. It was an entirely different form. It made no sense. Even if this was a Zoan-type devil fruit, such a power should only possess three states: human, animal, and hybrid. What was this anomalous state that this freak had taken on? What was that slaughterous pressure that emanated just now? How could it have physically rendered all of his troops unconscious?

It was just a little boy. Yet, why was it that he felt like he was staring a colossal, savage beast waiting to shred him apart?

"FIRE!" The general shouted at the men around him. "SHOOT HIM DOWN! NOW!"

Several rounds of gunshots echoed into the sky. The dark, diabolical creature dove straight towards them at frightening speed. In mere seconds, a black zigzagging streak pounded into the earth before them where the devil stood on all four. Hands and feet clung on the ground; its claws slicing through the dirt like butter. Its wings collapsed behind its back. With the rise of its head, a single deathly glare sent shivers down their spines.

A heartbeat later, the fiend flickered away. A phantasmal gust of wind blew across them. A second later, it began to rain red. The soldiers watched with looks of horror as blood drizzled from the sky. Fragments of Arms, legs, and heads thumped onto the ground, sliced and diced. Not even one of them had the time to scream.

"Haah… Haah," Hammerstein huffed and puffed. His heartbeat racing; beads of sweat trickling down his face. His eyes shifted; in a blink of an eye, the monster was right behind him, leaving behind a merciless trial of his slaughtered men. With a quick whip of his arm, he ordered his horse to gallop away. He needed reinforcement. He cursed his hired assassin of the West for failing to kill this boy properly.

The general suddenly heard a voice whispered into his ears, "Where do you think you're going?" He flinched; eyes flickering towards his right shoulder. A look of terror in his eyes, he saw a little bat perching on his shoulder; he could hardly feel the weight of the critter.

"Spear Fist!" A human boy flipped in front of him, upside down in the air as he thrusted his hand straight through the general's heart.

…

As reinforcement arrived, angered soldiers stormed straight towards him from all sides, surrounding the boy who had slayed much of their comrades. Spears and sabers brandished and whirled.

 _Kill!_

A sharp kick swung out as five streaks slashed across a soldier's torso.

 _KILL!_

A flicker of his wings and two soldiers, who attacked from behind, hurled back with blood gushing out. Even the edges of his wings became sharp. The thumb of his wings was shaped like a sickle, reaping the blood of soldiers who got too close. With a single flap of his wings, a powerful burst of wind swept away mobs of soldiers, tumbling into the distance. Propelling himself off the ground, he flew across the battlefield like a haunting demon, rapidly slicing down anyone that stood in his path.

His eyes locked down at only one man, the same one who he couldn't slay before.

Daz Bones watched with a calm, serious visage as the Zoan-user was rapidly closing in on him. His fingers curled into blades before lashing out. "Spar Claw!" He clashed with the dark preternatural being. Steel claws met against organic black claws. "You may have gained a new form, but your attacks still cannot harm me. Conversely, I can harm you!" He quickly crossed his bladed arms in front of him, "Spar Break!"

"!?" The man from West Blue was taken aback. His opponent had just mirrored his movements exactly. With each strike he made, his opponent countered with the exact same movement. Even the boy's new form was likely an inspiration from his Paramecia-type power.

Something wasn't right. The longer this fight lasted, the stronger and faster each of the boy's attack became. In the heat of battle, Pluto was evolving, perpetually sharpening his skills. He became more efficient, minimizing the errors in his movements and using the least amount of motion to evade, deflect and attack.

 _Bioelectricity._

Suddenly, violet-colored electricity discharged from Pluto's hands and conducted straight into the man made of steel, "Electro!"

Paralyzed, the Paramecia-user couldn't move. "What?" He gritted his teeth, perplexed as to what the boy had just did. But it didn't matter; his body was couldn't be harmed. No bullet or blade could put a scratch on him.

 _Muscle Conversion: Fast-Twitch Fibers_

Pluto flickered away, reappearing behind his opponent back to back. By combining his new form, superhuman speed, and hyper-efficiency of moment, the boy had managed to slice through steel.

"KUH!" Daz Bones was wounded.


	8. The Birth of a Monster Cat

"Is that the treasure chest you mentioned?" Kimiko pointed towards the small little wooden box on the floor next to Miu. Its size made the box appear rather insignificant but at least portable to be carried around comfortably.

The brunette nodded, "Yes! This is the treasure chest that I got after the fishmen were defeated." The one souvenir from the outside world had a rectangular base with an arch-shaped lid. A golden stripe on either side of the chest, and one down the middle. There was a lock dangling at the front with a keyhole to open it.

"What's inside?"

"I don't know," the leader admitted, but that didn't stop her face from appearing all excited. "I don't have a key to open it. However," she turned towards the little black-haired girl. "Kimiko. You're good with lockpicking, right? Do you think you could try and open the chest?"

The girl paused for a moment as if honored to be of use, "Yes! I'll do my best!"

Later on the day, the group of orphans caught up with their leader, and in the meantime, Kimiko managed to successfully tinker her way through the cheap security that sealed the content of whatever was inside the box.

Click!

"Nekohime, I did it! I unlocked it!"

"!" Curiosity intensified. Miu leaned closer towards the treasure chest and rested a hand over the rounded top lid before slowly opening it by the hinges. She was meticulously slow as if worried that the box was boobytrapped. The shadows within the hollow space waned as light gradually revealed the single item dwelling within this prized possession. Pairs of eyes scrutinized the same object before their expressions simultaneously turned quizzical.

"What is this?" asked the lockpicker.

The leader of the gang remained silent as she continued to glare at the round orb-like object. It had a mystical shade of blue like the ocean with light cyan swirls decorating throughout its entire surface. On top, there appeared to be a blue stem that forked in two – one was straight as the other ended with a downward curl.

"I don't know," answered the brunette. She had never seen anything like it. Her hands soon reached forth to grab hold of the colorful item. It had a hard-exterior surface, but it felt organic. With the stem on top, she was inclined to believe that this was some sort of fruit, but for such an item to be locked up in a box for who knows how long, she was surprised that this wasn't rotten to the core yet. There was no malodorous scent to indicate that this had spoiled.

"Do you think it's edible?" the lockpicker asked with a raised eyebrow of uncertainty.

"For all we know, this could be poisonous," the leader was leaning on the side of caution for now.

An eerie presence.

A sinister voice snuck up from behind without warning, "In that case, hand it over."

Not recognizing the cold, detached tone as one of her own underlings, Miu shifted her eyes around, greatly alarmed. Standing in the middle of the room, there was a mysterious boy shrouded in a dark-grey cloak; his face concealed by the shadow casted from a low-hanging hood. The surroundings kids were all startled, flinching back as if they had not noticed him standing there a moment ago. Throughout their entire time on living on this island, this had been their secret hideout. They were all trained to make sure not to be followed on their way back to their main base. One mistake would endanger the whole group. There was an entire system in place, yet this single boy intruded on their turf just as their leader had returned.

In other words, there was a strong likelihood that he managed to follow Miu all the way here. From the looks of it, this boy did not appear to be neither a marine nor a pirate. He didn't appear to be from this island at all for that matter. Could he have followed the girl all the way from a different island?

Scanning the room, the curtains were closed. The entrance should have been guarded. Someone should have noticed him entering inside. So, why was it that no one had notified her of his existence? Heck, even none of her numerous cats had even bothered to alarm her of an intruder. How did he get into their home turf without detection? There were nearly two dozen pairs of eyes lurking around right now, and she was supposed to believe that none of them saw this blatantly suspicious-looking boy?

"How did you get in here!?" Miu snarled. Her posture shifted to a defensive one, ready to pounce.

But the enigmatic one ignored her question and went straight to the point of his intention, "Hand over that Devil Fruit. You all clearly have no idea what that is."

"Devil… Fruit?" The leader of the gang repeated that term. It sounded vaguely familiar. She may have heard the term a few times in the past but never bothered to explore behind its true meaning. "What's that?"

"Give that to me first, and I'll explain it to you all in return," he gestured with an open hand, clearly willing to trade information in exchange for the item.

"Hmm," Miu hummed to herself. It was difficult to decide as she didn't know just what a Devil Fruit is. And judging from the reactions of her allies, they didn't seem to know either. Otherwise, one of them should have at least identified what the treasure in the chest was. "Alright, if I give you this Devil Fruit, will you promise to tell us what it is?" This boy clearly knew a lot of what this item is. She needed to extract information from him to quickly get herself up to date on just what sort of item she just possessed. Turning around towards the desk with her back facing towards the intruder, she began to prepare the treasure box for regifting.

"Yes," the intruder nodded. "I'd rather not use force to obtain it. I'm not fond of fighting little kids. If you give it to me, I'll answer any question you have about it." He sounded sincere and reasonable, but his anonymous appearance would make anyone distrusting of him.

Turning to face the man, Miu presented the treasure chest in her hands. With the lid open, it was clear as day that the blue Devil Fruit remained present inside. "Here it is," she showed it to him before closing the lid before striding towards the hooded boy at a moderate pace while holding the box in both hands. "Now, you better tell me all about it," she smiled and outstretched her arms, offering it to him in exchange for information. Meanwhile, the other kids were notably dissatisfied with this trade but remained silent in respect of their leader's decision.

The cloaked child lifted the box from the bottom with his palm and retracted his arm, securing it close to his body. Keeping his side of the bargain, he began to explain, "Devil Fruits are said to be the incarnations of the sea devil. If consumed, you will gain devil powers. Each Devil Fruit grants a unique power, meaning that no two Devil Fruit users can have identical powers. Once a Devil Fruit user dies, that power get reincarnated back into a fruit, able to be eaten once again by someone else."

This sounded like something straight out of legend. Miu did not believe in the existence of sea devils. "What kind of power might a Devil Fruit give to the consumer?" asked the brunette, listening attentively just like all the other kids.

"The powers can be classified into three types. The Zoan-type grants you high-speed transformation into an animal of some kind. The Logia-type allows you to turn your body into a natural element, capable of mass-producing and manipulating said element. And, the Paramecia-type is essentially anything that doesn't fall under the other two categories. They may modify your body in some way, might be permanent or might be transformative. It might allow you to mass-produce and manipulate something. It might allow you to alter the environment itself. But, unless it's recorded by researchers, you have no way of telling what sort of power the fruit would grant you. It's not something you can easily pick and choose."

As she expected, this boy knew a lot about Devil Fruits. Miu was now educated in the three categories of these supernatural powers, but she had a hard time believing that such powers existed in the world. They must be quite rare as she had never encountered such bizarre sounding abilities. "Then, do you know what sort of Devil Fruit is inside that chest?" she asked inquisitively, wondering if the fruit she obtained was renown enough for someone like him to go out of his way to take it from her. Had she not willingly surrendered the item to him, she had no doubts that would employ force to snatch it form them.

"I have no idea," he replied, not even sounding like a lie either. Everything he had said seemed rather honest. "Just to be clear, I have no intention of eating this fruit myself," he admitted.

The leader took that statement by surprise. After all that talk about gaining a devil power, why wouldn't he want to eat it himself? "Then…, why do you want it so badly?" the girl asked.

"It is my duty to not let this fall into the wrong hands. Had you chosen to just carry this around, without a doubt, pirates, marines, and even commoners would all try to steal it for themselves. I cannot risk my enemies to strengthen their forces with such a power. While I personally have no use for this it, at the very least, I can control who consumes it. This is not something for little kids. Once you eat it, you're stuck with it for the rest of your lives."

In other words, eating this fruit was a giant gamble. Without a clue as to what power might befall the consumer, it would linger for the rest of their life. However, even with that risk, Miu was greedy and still wanted such a power to herself. Depending on what happens after she consumes it, she might be able to do something about ending the war that's ravaging her home island for all these years.

An orphan boy asked the intruder a question of his own, "How much would it cost if one were to sell it?" Clearly, the other kids had been listening attentively to the stranger's explanations, entranced by the lore behind it.

"At the very least, a hundred million beri. If it's an especially rare and potent power, possibly even billions," he answered with point-blank honesty, unhesitant of telling them about the facts.

"EH!?" the boy along with a few others dropped their jaws at the huge numbers being thrown at them.

Without warning, Miu lunged towards the cloaked boy whose attention was diverted away from her. She reached out her hand towards the box with haste. The intruder reacted promptly, pivoting his stance and overextending her reach by luring her with the box. With a gentle nudge from behind, he rendered the youth off balance as the she tumbled across the floor.

"Tch!" She gnashed, realizing that this boy had some skill and wouldn't be so easily robbed. "Everyone! Get him!" she ordered her entire gang to go after him. Boy and girls grabbed hold of random weaponry, ranging from clubs, swords, and even rifles. They quickly surrounded the intruder, and in such a confined space, there was no escape. From the looks of it, the shrouded boy appeared unarmed with the possibility of concealed weaponry hidden beneath that cloak. Furthermore, one of his hands was preoccupied by holding that treasure chest. No matter how one analyzed this situation, they had the advantage despite being just a bunch of children and adolescents.

But they soon found out that it wasn't going to be all that easy. Despite being outnumbered, the cloaked child was incredibly nimble and elusive. With minimal movements, he evaded thrusts and slashes of weapons while singlehandedly -in the very literal sense of the word- rendered his opponents to ram into each other.

Like a wild animal, Miu ran on all four limbs, approaching the boy from behind at a very low angle. Against all expectations, her target jumped into the air as if knowing that she was sneaking up on him. And at the very next moment, a streak of black sliced through the air as the intruder vanished from the room altogether.

"Eh!?" Golden-hued eyes widened in utter shock. It was as if he disappeared, but what if that was just sheer speed all along? But how could a human be that fast?

"Where did he go!?" a boy wielding a club glanced around the room like everyone else. The intruder simply left all their fields of vision.

"Sorry Miu, we lost him," a girl apologized as even their group effort failed to seize that slippery boy who has now taken the treasure chest that their leader had brought back with her. The one souvenir from the outside world was gone, and guilt began to grow on their faces.

"Hmm, that is a shame. I kind of liked that box," the brunette responded with a nonchalant tone. One of her cats at least would have surely enjoyed sleeping inside that wooden container. "But I think it's a fair trade. He got the box, and we got some important information on what Devil Fruits are."

"Huh!? How is that a fair trade?" an older boy protested. "You heard him! That fruit costed at least a hundred million beri. We would be filthy rich if we sold that!"

"And what good would money be in a war zone?" Miu retorted, uninterested the financial worth of that fruit. There were no stores or active businesses around these parts of the island.

It was then, a smirk formed on her face, "And, it's a fair trade in our favor because in additional to the information, I only gave him most of what he asked for." The devious girl grinned triumphantly as she took something out from her pocket.

…

Meanwhile, standing a few blocks away, the cloaked boy stood on top of a roof, holding the treasure chest in his hand. There was no denying that he saw the Devil Fruit being present inside the box as the girl gave this to him. But just in case, he wanted to make sure. Opening the lid up, he saw the blue orb-shaped fruit, confirming that it was indeed inside the box. But, for some reason, he felt like there was something he was missing. It seemed too easy. Why did that girl offer up this treasure to him so easily? Perhaps they were just that confident that they could get the treasure back as shown when they attempted to steal it from him through sheer numbers. But, would an ordinary person let go of a treasure knowing that it's valuable enough for someone like him to want it?

As he picked the Devil Fruit up, there was no doubt about it. This organic surface, it was truly a genuine fruit that's been cursed by the devil. But then, his fingers felt a dent, and as he spun the fruit around, his violet-hued eyes widened in surprise.

There was a chunk missing!

 _THAT BRAT! SHE TRICKED ME!_

Unbelievable! Despite initially knowing nothing about Devil Fruits, that cunning, crafty, sneaky, sly little girl had such a plan right from the start!? He underestimated her, thinking she was just a naïve girl.

This was bad! He had never considered this possibility before, but if a Devil Fruit was partitioned into two pieces, the one who eats it first gains the power. And, since he was already a Devil Fruit user, if he were to eat the fruit now just to rob the girl of the opportunity of consuming it, the process would kill him on the spot. After all, one could not consume more than one devil fruit power at the same time.

"Damn it!" He gritted his teeth as not much time was left. "I must retrieve the other piece as soon as possible," urgently, he leaped off the rooftop.

…

"EH? IS THAT?" Eyes widened in shock. In their leader's hand was a small piece of the blue Devil Fruit that was clearly ripped out of the main body.

"That's right. I gave him the Devil Fruit. But I took a small piece of it for myself before I placed it back inside the box. I don't know whether eating just a small piece of it would have the same effect as eating the whole fruit. But, even if the consumer does have to eat the entire fruit, he would probably come back the moment he realizes it. And, I believe there are only two possibilities: either I gain the power, or no one gains the power." According to her calculations, this would either end in a draw or a win for her. If all the information given to her was accurate, then as long as she was willing to gamble for a devil power, there was no risk involved.

"What do you mean by that?" asked a boy.

"Remember what he said?" Miu gestured with an index finger before reciting the exact words spoken to them, "No two Devil Fruit users can have identical powers." Her grin widened. "So, that begs the question. What happens when you split the fruit up? If two people were to consume each half, the possibility of them both gaining the power is ruled out. That means two possible outcomes remain: either no one gets the power since you must eat the entire fruit or the one who takes the first bite gains the power. And, he already said that he has no intention of eating the fruit himself, so if it's an eating contest, I'll surely win."

Upon hearing and understanding her reasoning, the other kids applauded her, "Ooo! That's Miu for ya. Sneaky as always!"

Later…

The hooded boy from before had abruptly returned, "Where is she!?" This was awkward. After having escaped this place once, voluntarily coming back here was just plain embarrassing for whatever reason.

A little girl walked up to him with an innocent and timid look, "Oh, if mean our leader, she's gone. She left because she figured you might come back here to find her."

"Tch," he glanced around the room before closing his eyes.

 _Tch… she already anticipated my next move. I see… she's trying to lure me away from these kids, fearing I might harm them. The longer I stay here, the longer she'll have to run away._

He asked in a stern voice towards Kimiko, "Where did she go?"

Elsewhere…

Miu analyzed the chunk of the fruit in her hand. The interior part of the fruit was pale yellow, much like what one would expect from the insides of an apple. There were no visible seeds in her piece either. With a quick sniff, it didn't smell particularly good. Perhaps it was a rotten piece of fruit after all? The more she scrutinized it, the more incredulous she became at the thought of being able to gain some supernatural powers. A part of her wondered if that boy lied to her or made the whole thing up? But the explanations were too detailed and sophisticated to have been a lie. And for someone capable of infiltrating their hideout and escaping with such ease, that was a clear telltale sign that he was no ordinary person. Someone of that caliber would have no need to lie.

"Very clever," a familiar voice loomed from behind, causing the brunette to flinch and flicker her glance around in surprise. The hooded one from behind was standing a stride away, impressively stealthy to have snuck up her so closely without her notice. "Trying to trick me like that."

"Ha-ha…," she gave a nervous chuckle. While she expected him to come for her, she didn't expect to him to approach her out of the blue like this. "I gave you the Devil Fruit, so it's not like I lied to you."

"But you didn't give me the entire fruit," he grumbled.

Miu looked up at the boy who stood half a foot taller than her, asking with an innocent tone, "Do you want the piece that I have, then?"

"Yes, I'll be taking the other piece that you possess right now," he nodded, partly relieved that she hadn't eaten it yet.

"Mmm," she hummed. "Alright. You can take it," the girl concurred.

 _Eh? She's agreeing to it that willingly!? No! It's a trap! The last time she was this obedient, she tricked me. There must be a catch to this._

Suddenly, Miu placed the small piece of fruit in between her cleavage, partially covered by the collar of her pink tank-top. "Go ahead! Take it then."

"What!?" Pluto froze stiff. "What are you doing!?"

"Nothing," she said sweetly, tilting her head. "I'm letting you have it. Here, you can take it back."

"That's playing dirty!" He clenched his fists. Sure, he had done far worse things in life such as murder, but for whatever reason, sexual harassment was crossing the line for him.

"What's wrong?" Miu stood her ground, more confident than ever now that she found out his weakness. Unexpectedly, this guy was more innocent than he looks, at least enough to be hesitating from reaching for her bosoms.

 _THIS ISN'T FAIR!_

"Well now," the brunette gleefully grinned at him, "If you don't want it back, then I guess I'll eat it then." Taking a few hops back, she gained some distance away from the hooded figure before turning around and grabbing ahold of the piece of fruit that was sitting on her cleavage.

"What!? Wait! Stop! Grr!" He was losing his composure, clearly flustered. What was supposed to do in this case? He had been dancing at the palm of this girl's hand this entire time. Every single response he had made was likely going exactly as she predicted.

Opening her mouth, Miu tossed the fruit into her mouth before sealing her lips shut. Her eyes playfully glared at him in a taunting manner.

"Spit that out right now!" Pluto barked with a pointer finger gestured towards her. But it was too little, too late.

As the girl munched on the fruit, her face began to cringe at a foul taste lingering on her tongue. She forced herself to swallow this disgusting piece of fruit. "Bleh! That was gross! You never mentioned that it would taste this bad!" She talked as if she was mad at him for not warning her about how unpalatable the fruit would be.

"That's because you weren't supposed to eat it!" Pluto snapped back. Relaxing his posture, he let out a sigh. This mission wasn't what he had in mind. He thought he had lucked out when finding out that a little girl was in possession of the item of interest. He thought it'd be like taking candy from a baby. But this was one tricky girl for him to handle. Normally, he wouldn't mind using force to get what he wants, but the idea of striking a little girl left a bad taste in his mouth as well.

Miu took a few moments to analyze herself. Arms displayed in front of her, noticing no apparent changes about her appearance. Overall, she didn't really feel any different. Could it be that she needed to have consumed the entire fruit after all? Or did it take some amount of time for the effects to kick in? Her eyes shifted towards the expert in this field, "Hey! Nothing happened!"

The cloaked figure tossed the small treasure chest aside as there was no point in holding onto it anymore. Now that the fruit -even if it was just a piece of it- was consumed by this girl, there was no way to reverse it. Crossing his arms, he remained silent for a while before speaking, "That's because you have no idea what power you've received and no clue how to even activate it." Given all the hassle this girl had brought him so far, he secretly hoped that she received a pitifully lame power of some kind. But for the time being, he might as well find out what sort of devil power is lying deep within her. Taking a half-step forward, the pressure in the air shifted.

"!" Miu felt her entire body flinch as an invisible wave washed over her. Her eyes darted towards the cloaked man, widened with trepidation. The thick miasma oozing out of him was being directed straight at her; it was suffocating. Every fiber of her being was sending danger signals to her brain; her instincts told her that this person was extremely dangerous.

"Do you remember what I said?" a cold, sinister tone sliced through the air. "When a Devil Fruit user dies, their powers get reincarnated," he reminded her with a threatening demeanor.

It was at that moment that the brunette wholeheartedly believed that this boy was going to kill her in order to extract out her power. She was frightened. Having been raised in a warzone with soldiers and barbaric pirates roaming about, she was used to danger. But never in her entire life had she felt so afraid of death. Her pupils dilated. Her heart pounded faster and louder like a beating drum. Her breath grew shorter and quicker. Her limbs were trembling.

Fight or flight.

There was no way she could win. This ugly, hideous bloodlust was overwhelming. How could a human boy possess such a terrifying presence and maddening urge to kill? It was inconceivable. Clenching her fists and teeth, Miu bolted in the opposite direction, sprinting as far away from this boy as possible.

 _What is he!?_

Gasping for air, her legs carried her as if her life depended on it. Her eyes shifted towards the back, daring to gaze at the predator, only to find that the shrouded boy was gone!

 _What? Where is he?_

Bump!

Miu slammed into face first into something hard. Staggering back, she glanced forward before dropping her jaw in disbelief, "H-How!?" The boy was right in front of her. But that was impossible. She didn't even see him move an inch! How could he already be ahead of her even after having a head start?

In a swift motion, the boy stepped within range and struck an open palm at the girl's abdomen.

"Kurgh!" Her torso collapsed as she felt the wind knocked out of her lungs. Then suddenly, a discharge of electricity was conducted straight into her. She screamed. Her muscle spasmed and convulsed uncontrollably. And, for whatever reason, the electricity was colored violet.

 _Electro!_

Gradually, the girl's form was wavering. Her body beginning to expand and bulge. The coloration of her skin darkened.

Pluto halted his assault and leapt back to observe the strange phenomenon at a safer distance. The girl was transforming. Her arms and legs beefed up with muscles. A layer of brown fur coating her limbs with strange black spiraling markings. She was growing, pressing the ground on all four like an animal. Two tails sprouted from behind.

"A Zoan-type is it?" the cruel figure watched with a blank, detached expression was the girl was no longer recognizable as a human being. But then, just as he thought he correctly identified the type of power, something unexpected occurred.

A surge of blue flames enveloped the entire body of the giant monster that now towered over him, well over twice his height. The beast roared, sending a gust of wind the blew at his way.

Crossing his arms, the boy felt his hood being blown off his head, revealing his true face. Short black hair, violet-hued eyes, and a youthful face where he should barely even be in his twenties.

 _What the!? Where did the blue flames come from!?_

Something was off. He could not identify what sort of animal was looming over him. It appeared like an oversized feral cat with two tails that were as long as the main body itself. Its golden eyes glared at him with resentment. Its open mouth revealed sharp white fangs; its entire jaw could likely consume him whole.

"What kind of animal are you supposed to be?" he asked with a perplexed tone, placing a hand on his chin.

 _A cat? A tiger? No. This was a monster!_

With a stupefied expression, he casted a casual glance at the giant feline leering over him, "Well… this is new." He was officially confused. This was a Zoan-type, right? But, what the hell sort of creature was this? It sure wasn't a type of cat that he was aware of.

After a fierce growl, the beast swiped its right paw which crashed and hurled the boy off into the distance. Flying, Pluto collided straight through a wall of a desolated warehouse, buried in the deepest end of the room as his body made its dent against the wall before plopping onto the floor with debris falling on top of him. "Ow…," he let out a dull, monotonous cry.

The two-tailed beast analyzed her new body.

 _What? What is this? I have… paws? I'm covered in flames. It's hot, but it doesn't hurt._

She realized that her fiery form was humongous, larger than any big cats that knew of, and from her size came a massive amount of weight. Yet despite her heaviness, she didn't feel cumbersome at all due to what felt like an unfathomable amount of strength. She felt like her entire body was a giant mass of raw, dense muscles. She had black claws on her paws that were retractable. She had two long tails wavering at the back. This power surging within her, these flames enveloping her, she felt immensely powerful, far beyond what her mind could comprehend. She felt unbeatable.

 _What… am I? Am I not human?_

She tried to stand up like a human being. The cat-like monster shifted towards her hind legs, standing like a giant werecat. Taking a few steps around on just two legs, she realized that despite her quadrupedal tendencies, it felt rather normal to walk as a bipedal creature as well. Strange.

 _Is this… a devil power? It's… amazing. Am I… a cat?_

Without being able to see a reflection of herself, she was uncertain what her full appearance looked like from an outsider's perspective.

Can I… return to being human?

She didn't remember how she managed to transform into this state. When shocked by electricity while under a state of deathly fear, her instincts had simply guided her into this animalistic form. Slowly, she began to shrink, contracting herself down to a small, humanoid build. And eventually, her eyes were glancing at her humanly hands before scanning the rest of her body. Thankfully, the transformation was not permanent. She had returned to her ordinary self, meaning that this power likely allowed her to alternate back and forth.

"Amazing," she uttered in awe, still in disbelief. The existence of a devil power was hard to swallow and hadn't sunken in yet. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

Her golden eyes shifted to the side, glancing at the gaping hole in the warehouse where she had launched the cloaked boy with a swipe of her massive paw. Never could she ever dream of being able to unleash such strength. That person could very well be severely injured to have received that level of power at pointblank range. She wondered if he was still alive. It didn't matter though.

That boy was dangerous.

…

Meanwhile, by the docks of the island, navy vessels line up in a neat and orderly line across the borders. They had their usual murky-green hull with six cannons along each flank. Three masts standing tall, supporting a set of pristine white sails with the blue symbol of the World Government etched into the fabric, appearing as cartoonish representation of a seagull with a wrench at the bottom. On the uppermost sail, the word 'MARINE' was written in capitalized letters in dark-blue. And at the very top, beyond the crow's next was a small white flag that wavered in the wind, symbolizing their allegiance with one of the Three Great Powers.

A platoon of soldiers dwelled within the ships as well as several patrolling the main decks. They were their usual uniforms consisting of a white button-up, sleeveless shirt with a blue tie around the collar, a pair of dark-blue pants, heavy brown boots, and a white cap on top of their heads with the words 'MARINE' written across the front. Only those roaming the decks were armed readily armed with cutlasses sheathed by their waists or rifles strapped across their backs, locked and loaded.

"?" a few of the soldiers pointed inland, sighting a girl who's approaching them all by herself. And with looks of recognitions, their expressions quickly grew to irritation. They all knew who that girl was. She was that troublemaker who led a gang of misfits. They were a small force, not exactly known of their combative prowess. But that meager-sized force was backed up of this girl's tactics and strategies. Leading a small group of children, she would have them be an utter nuisance by stealing their supplies such as food, medical aid, and weaponry. Whether it's guerrilla warfare, baiting, ambushing, or distracting, that girl was such an annoyance to them and brought them a level of embarrassment for even struggling to handle her, that the navy went as far as to slap a bounty on her head. It wasn't much, but it was enough to at least label her as a criminal for thievery and assaulting navy soldiers.

"Koneko Miu!" One of them shouted out to her with an assertive tone. "What are you doing here!?" It was strange. She normally wouldn't act alone like this, and her lackies were nowhere to be seen or at least as far as the eyes could tell. A casual walk right to the front doors of the enemy's den, this was completely uncharacteristic of her usual approach. That girl was just plain sneaky, but what could she possibly accomplish by coming to them all on her own? Was she voluntarily going to turn herself in?

Suddenly, the girl began to morph at a rapid rate, enlarging, expanding, and bulging. Engulfed in blue flames, her appearance was hidden before taking on a large, four-legged form with two tails extruding from behind.

"AHHHHH~!" a scream sounded out as a navy soldier recruit pointed towards the giant monster that loomed before them. They had just witnessed it, that girl's transformation. Never had she shown such an ability before. Without a doubt, she had obtained a Devil Fruit power.

The large cat-like behemoth with two long tails approached them on all four legs with its body completely shrouded in blue flames that sizzled the air. Its golden round eyes glared menacingly. A creature that they have never seen before, one that was clearly not native to this island. The scorching heat radiating off its flaming body was intense enough that simply getting close to it was unbearable.

After taking a couple of strides back, the marine recruits strained their eyes even more as if a girl transforming into a flaming monster wasn't already ridiculous. The cat bared its white fangs at them, roaring with a ferocious and wild growl that caused the air itself to shook, and from that open jaw, a small blue sphere began to take shape before expanding into a ball of fire that took up the size of its mouth. In an instant, the scorching hot ball was launched out like a cannon ball before.

Before the soldiers could even think of counterattacking, they must first survive the incoming blast. Turning around, they ran off as the sphere of fire crashed into the frontal part of their ship, incinerating planks of wood into ashes. The blue flames began to spread with temperatures notably even hotter than ordinary flames.

The soldiers on the main deck panicked, conflicted as to whether to put out the fire, aboard the ship, or attack the monster. Doing any one of those tasks would require a decent chunk of manpower.

From below the deck, a certain man rushed out in urgency. He wore the same attire as all the others with the exception that he was wearing a special white cape that bared the symbol of justice on his back. The garment suggested that he was a navy officer, higher ranked than those around him. A lean, muscular build, greyish-tan skin, a sharp jawline, unruly dark-cyan hair, and a stern expression. "What's going on?" The officer gritted his teeth, eyes immediately drawn towards the fire that was spreading across the main deck from the front with a giant flaming monster about to pounce on top of them.

"Captain Woof!" the underlings turned to the man with relief.

"Abandon Ship!" The captain barked at them before leaping off the side as a giant paw crashed down from where he last stood. The surface of the deck cracked and caved in by the sheer weight of the behemoth. The entire vessel began to slant forwards as the monster's forepaws ravaged about with those black claws, each physical contact only kindling more flames to spread. With the combination of the fire and the large beast, there was no saving this ship.

Soldiers dove off the railings and landed into the shallow waters.

A navy ship at the flank prepared their cannons, immediately ready to fire at the flaming beast while sacrificing one of their ships. A round of six cannonballs whistled into the air with a short trajectory. Some crashed into the ship, damaging it further. Some landed into the waters. And some made a direct hit onto the hulking monster, causing the beast to let out a cry of pain as it retreated to land, prowling away.

Unsheathing his dual swords from their shared scabbard, Captain Woof leaped into action as he launched himself straight towards the two-tailed cat, "Wolf Fang Slash!" While wielding both blades in both hands, he came down from above the monster with the tip of the blade pointed downwards, resembling the canine fangs of a wolf.

In response, the four-legged beast glared with those golden round eyes and attacked the airborne swordsman by whipping its flaming twin tails.

"ARUGH!" Struck from behind, the captain was hurled off to the side, feeling an intense burn on his back as his cape was caught on fire.

Meanwhile…

"Ahhh…," Pluto clambered onto his feet before yawning. "I almost fell asleep. Father sure doesn't hold back on giving me these missions." He was used to operating at night and sleeping by day, much like a nocturnal creature.

 _Now then…, what do I do now? At this point, I've failed to retrieve the Devil Fruit. I'm not supposed to let it fall to the wrong hands, so I guess that all depends on what kind of person that girl is. If she turns out to be harmless, I guess it's fine. If she turns out to be a threat, I might have to eliminate her._

Nonchalantly, the black-haired youth stepped out of the gaping hole on the wall, leaving the shabby warehouse. Having completely lost track of how much time had passed, he scanned his surroundings, noting that he was alone. Neither the girl nor the giant freakish cat monster was in sight. Sighing to himself, he dreaded having to find that brunette again.

Cannon fire sounded in the distance, followed by screams, and eruptions.

"Huh?" In a single leap, he propelled himself into the air, landing on a rooftop for a clear view. He blinked at the sight of blue light emitting from the shores with rising grey smoke. There were little men white uniforms being attacked by a giant flaming four-legged creature with two tails. "Well… that was easy," he muttered to himself, having already located his target.

The flaming cat let out a nasty growl as it preyed on the marine captain who's lying on his back.

"Damn, this monster," the navy officer cursed. He didn't think that troublemaking girl would have gained devil power. And to top it off, this clearly wasn't a run-of-the-mill power. Gritting his teeth, he watched as the massive paw came crashing down from above, ready to crush him flat like a pancake. "Grr," he closed his eyes, admitting his defeat and failing his men. But then, seconds later, he found himself still alive, so he hesitantly opened his eyes to find a mysterious cloaked person standing in front of him and blocking the paw with a single hand.

Captain Woof dropped his jaw at the sight of a mere human fending off such a heavy blow to the point that ground beneath defender's feet was cracking from the sheer weight of the force.

"Hey," Pluto shifted his eyes, "Hurry up and leave. My hand is burning right now, and it hurts like hell."

"… R-Right, thanks," the bloodied navy captain ached and groan in pain before limping away.

A ferocious roar boomed from the giant creature as the other paw came crashing down a flaming comet, crashing the ground which shook from impact. "!?" Golden eyes leered. With a raise of her paw, she found that the black-haired boy was not pancaked and was gone.

"Quit growling at me," Pluto was found squatting towards the shores, submerging his left hand into the cool waters to counteract the burn. "You should be able to speak."

The flaming cat turned his head before treaded towards the speedy human with a malicious glare. "Die!" A cold, sinister, yet feminine voice echoed out as the opened its jaw and began to concentrate blue flames towards the center of its mouth, expanding in size before being launched at the single human who attacked her from before.

The cloaked boy sharpened his glance, observing the creature's ability to conjure up a blue fireball before shooting it out of her mouth. That ability would be something he'd expect from a Paramecia-type power.

With a flicker of his arm, the entire ball of flames dispersed into a hot breeze before even contacting the black-haired martial artist. He had seen many Devil Fruit powers in his numerous voyages across the Grand Line, but never had he ever come across such an anomaly.

Is this really a Zoan-type power? I've never seen anything quite like this. Could it be…?

"Are you mad at me because you thought I was trying to kill you?" asked the human fighter before evading to the side as a paw struck down. Arching and bending his back, he avoided the same paw which swooshed over his torso. With his opponent's mouth gaping wide open, he leaped to the side to evade another fireball came launching forth and casting burnt marks onto the ground.

The oversized feline moved in a very frantic and untamed manner, wild and brash. Its flames flared, threatening to burn whoever dared to come close to her.

"I see. So, you've lost control. That's what happens when an ordinary person suddenly gains superhuman powers out of nowhere." Playing defensively, the boy continued to evade with his peerless speed and efficient maneuvers. Stomping forepaws, whipping tails, bites, claws, and fireballs, he was dodging them all.

"Do you think you can beat me with such clumsy attacks? Without control and precision, your strength cannot reach me," after understanding the beast's pattern of attacks, he shifted towards the offensive and flickered towards the monster's flank.

 _Cannon Fist!_

The martial artist executed what appeared to be a simple straight punch, a basic move heightened to a peerless level. With both power and precision, his blindingly fast punch generated a shockwave, unleashing a blast of air that struck the beast from the side of her length body. The monster cat growled out in pain as it toppled over onto its side, causing a loud thump as several tons of mass crashed into the earth.

W-Who is he?

He appeared to be a mere human being. Yet, despite having taken on his form and gaining what felt like unimaginable strength and power, she could not land a single hit on him and had just received a painful blow. With her muscle density, she didn't feel like anyone could possibly harm her body.

"Don't worry, I'm holding back. I've no intention of killing you," the boy reassured the oversized cat with his calm and nonchalant words. "Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but there is another form to your power. By combining your current physiology with your human self, you can achieve a hybrid of the two. Go ahead, give a try."

 _What? Is he… teaching me? I can combine both forms?_

Slowly, the Bakeneko shrunk in size down to much smaller and compact form. She took on a humanoid build, being a few inches taller than their human self and gaining some dense muscles on their lithe body. Her feet and legs become digitigrade, and two long tails -as long as their height- wavered from her lower back. She had a humanly face with triangular cat ears, feline fangs, black claws at their fingertips, cat-like eyes of golden hue, and tan-brown fur covering the body with spiraling black patterns on her body. With the flames waning, her true form was semi-transparent to an outside observer. Panting from fatigue, the girl analyzed her own body once again, feeling closer to her more human self. With this normal size, she felt more in control of her movement as well.

"Ah, so that's what you look like," Pluto noted as this was his first time witnessing her hybrid form. "This is your Human-Beast Form. Zoan-type powers allows you to freely transition among three forms. These are the basics of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit power."

Miu looked at the boy with a bit of hesitance. Why was he teaching her? Didn't he try to kill her earlier? "I see," she uttered.

"How does it feel?" asked the boy in a very mentor-like manner.

"It's incredible," the brunette admitted. Placing a hand on her bicep, she felt an incredible amount of dense muscle as she flexed, "I feel so strong." Her eyes were clearly possessed by the power surging through her.

He could tell. His opponent was just a little girl who suddenly tapped into a level of strength that's beyond her understanding. "Do think this power of yours make you invincible? You said you feel strong. But, in actuality, you feel unbeatable, right? Go ahead and attack me because I don't think you actually understand the meaning of 'strong'."

Miu glanced at him with doubt, but she was certainly very curious at trying out what this hybrid state could accomplish. "You sure about that? I can attack you however I want?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

Eagerly, the cat-girl bolted into action with a burst of speed. She jetted across the gap between them, feeling a rush of excitement bubbling within her. She was grateful for his permission to attack him because if she remained still any longer, she felt like this power bottling up inside of her would just explode. She simply couldn't stay still and wanted to unleash her energy all at once.

Clenching her fist, she shot out a punch faster than she had every unleashed in her entire life. "!" Her eyes widened in surprise as her opponent blocked her punch with an open palm from an outstretched arm. The collision was enough to release a small shockwave of air, yet this boy wasn't budging at all. Retracting her arm and shooting out a straight jab with her other fist, she attacked, only for her force to be completely nullified. Again, and again, she continued her onslaught of punches, wild and untamed. She was trying to overwhelm him with brute force and speed. But every single one of her punches was blocked by a single palm.

What was going on here? It didn't feel like she was hitting a brick wall or anything like that. More like, she was hitting dense rubber that absorbed the shock of her blows.

"Impressive," he commended her attempt. "Given how pathetic your technique is, you can deliver quite a lot of power. But a punch is something more like this," a split second later, his fist was already pressed up against her abdomen.

"!" Shocked, Miu could not see his movements at all. His fist was already in contact with her, but there was no momentum at all as if he was merely posing. Then suddenly, a jerk of power exploded from his fist, hurling her dozens of meters away as she tumbled across the ground uncontrollably. Upon rolling to a stop, she repeatedly coughed while covering the spot of impact with a hand. Had she received that blow in her human state, that would have surely broken her ribs at the bare minimum. The sheer muscle density of her current form provided a natural layer of defense, making her more durable.

H-How? He didn't even wind up his punch, so how can he deliver that much force?

"Well, this is more or less what I'd expect from an ordinary person who suddenly gained the strength of a few hundred men. You have a strong body, but you don't know how to use it. You've never experienced what it's like to have that much muscular strength before. Naturally, you don't know how to use your new body; you're just throwing around raw strength with poor technique, lousy precision, and little control."

The brunette leaped into the fray, eager to prove him wrong. She dished out a variety of punches and kicks, but her combo led each strike hitting nothing but air as her target elusively slid, leaned, or pivoted just enough come out unscathed.

It's as if he can predict all my moves.

Her breathing had grown heavier and more audible, contrary to her slick and silent opponent. For dozens of times, she had observed the movements of countless of fighters, including soldiers, officers, pirates, and of course, cats. However, even as she watches this black-haired adolescent with those calm, focused eyes of mystic violet, she could not even begin to understand the secrets of his movements. She, the copycat, could to mimic him at all. His movements were too fast for her eyes to properly make out, and on top of that, his masterful use of timing was not something she could emulate.

Strength. Speed. Endurance. Stamina. Technique. Miu thought she could obtain it all with her physical enhancement. She thought she could learn technique by emulating others. Yet, why was it that this mysterious person, with just a normal human body, was able to toy with her so easily? It was painfully obvious that he wasn't even trying at this point, each of his movement with the intent to prove a point – that there was something beyond just raw physicality which separated the two of them.

The cat-girl came to a solution. Rather than playing his opponent's game of regular hand-to-hand combat, she decided to make use of something that only she possessed. If she was able to cloak herself in blue flames as a hulking cat monster, then she should be able to do the same in her hybrid state. A flare flashed from her entire form, wild and unsteady before slowly calming down into a stable aura that encased her whole, radiating just inches away from her body. The air around her grew fuzzy from the heat emitted from her. Close-range combat shouldn't work on her anymore. After all, if this guy so much as touches her, he'd get burned.

With a spring in her step, the flaming combatant darted towards him, ready to attack again.

"Urgh…," he casually wiped his forehead, "Get away from me! You're making me sweat!"

"!" For a split second, Miu felt her entire momentum killed of the spot before being hurled back in the opposite direction. That boy was going further and further away from her until she realized that it was her that's flying away. A sharp pain emerged from her abdomen. Did she get hit? But, she hadn't even finish closing the gap yet; he shouldn't have been able to reach her.

SPLASH!

Crashing towards the shallow depths of the shores, she found the world suddenly grew blurry with ripples distorting her vision. The flames that were encasing her were quickly extinguished, and coldness replaced that warm sensation, sending a chill down her spine.

"?" Her eyes widened in concern. As she held her breath, her limbs wouldn't respond to her will anymore. Her body felt paralyzed. Energy seeping out of her at a continuous rate; draining her of strength. She couldn't move at all.

 _W-What did he… do to me?_

Was it from his attack earlier? Or, was it because she overused her powers in some way? Whatever the reason, she could hold her breath for much longer. Her consciousness was slipping away. Her vision fading into black.

"Ah geez…," Pluto stepped into the shallow waters as he watched the cat-girl returning into her human form, now unconscious and submerged beneath the seas. "Of all the powers she could have obtained, it just had to be one of the rarest ones."

Reaching down, he pulled the limp body of the brunette out of the waters, "A Mythical Zoan Type Devil Fruit." Although he was hesitant to make that conclusion at first, there was simply no alternative possibilities in his mind. This girl seemed to have a Zoan-type power with some aspects from the realm of the Paramecia with the way she could summon those flames and even manipulate the shape of it to unleash a fireball. He had never seen such a rare type of power in person before; this was his first time. A power even rarer than a Logia-type.

There was just one thing that he wasn't sure about.

… _Seriously though... What kind of animal are you supposed to be?_


	9. Koneko Miu

A ball of fur began rolling across the wooden floor while rapturously chanting to herself, "I'm a kitty… I'm a kitty… I'm a kitty… I'm a kitty!" This was the best day of her life. The little kitten with a grey fur coat and a white underbelly halted her rolling, sitting on her hind legs with her forepaws resting at the front. "Look everyone!" She then raised her forepaws up into the air, exclaiming, "I'm a cat! This is the best day ever!"

In the room, a horde of children and adolescents of both boys and girls watched with aghast faces. Koneko Miu, their leader, was now a kitten who had her exact same ebullient tone of voice.

"M-Mister…," Kimiko, a little black-haired girl, timidly asked the enigmatic boy in the room who was sitting up against the wall, crisscrossing legs, "Is Miu going to be alright?" Her eyes were filled with uncertainty as they stared at the nonchalant black-haired bloke with eyes of mystic violet sitting by the wall and observing the happy-go-lucky talking cat.

"She seems pretty darn happy to me," Pluto replied with an unconcerned visage.

 _Strange. This completely defies the notion of Zoan-type Devil Fruits possessing three basic forms. Ordinarily, she should only be able to be a human, a giant two-tailed flaming cat, and a hybrid of the two. So why is it… that she can take on this kitten form? There's still so much about Mythical Zoans that even I do not know._

Miu walked on all four paws, approaching a diverse group of cats that were all sitting there with dumbfounded expressions. Raising her paw, she spoke to them with a prideful announcement, "Brothers! Sisters! I am one of you now!" Her pet cats all scrutinized the newly arrived kitten with curiosity, not understanding how their owner was able to become a cat yet still be able to speak the human tongue with her voice unchanged.

"I know she's happy about it," Kimiko acknowledged her leader's optimistic nature, "But can she turn back into a human?"

"Yes," the boy nodded. "She should be able to alternate forms within a split second. That is the power of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit."

The grey kitten twitched her ears as they swiveled towards the mysterious little boy with violet eyes. She crawled towards him, climbing onto his legs, rubbing her cheek against his body while purring affectionately. "So, this is a Zoan-type?" She uttered with great thirst to learn more about the mystic wonders of Devil Fruits.

"Correct," the composed, nonchalant boy answered with an expressionless, cold facial expression. But that was all just a mask on the outside. Deep down, he was suppressing a childish urge that must never be shown to all these people.

 _Darn it! Why are there so many cats here!? They're so fluffy and cute! I wanna pet them!_

Had there not been all these kids lingering here, he would have long since been picking up a few felines and stroking their fur. But, this grey-furred kitten was especially dangerous. Had he not known it was actually a human girl disguised as a cat, he would have accidentally been petting it. No way was he going to show such a soft spot out in the open.

"Master," the kitten pressed a paw up against him. "Teach me your ways of fighting."

"Hah!?" Pluto was taken aback. "M-Master!?" He had never been called that before.

"You're super-fast," she commented. "And strong! Are you really human?"

 _Huh? Has she not realized it?_

"Miu," he addressed her by name. "While I am strong and fast, the truth of the matter is: ever since you've gotten this power, your physical strength far exceeds my own." Having clashed with her the two-tailed monster cat, he estimated that she possessed the strength of a few hundred men.

"Eh?" The kitten tilted her head in skepticism. Surely, he must be acting humble. "That can't be true. I couldn't land a hit on you. You were able to dodge all my attacks and even block them head on."

"That wasn't because I was stronger. That was because I had better control of my strength," he answered honestly.

"Then teach me, so I can control my strength too!" The kitten raised her paws up into the air, childishly wanting to learn more from this knowledgeable and skilled boy.

…

A little girl with long brown hair and golden-hued eyes, that was Miu's true form. She stood outside in the open, barren land where no one was likely to find them. Cat ears grew out of her head and a long brown tail extruded from her lower back. Neither a human form nor a hybrid form, she had demonstrated something that caught the assassin's attention.

 _What? She only obtained this power recently, and she already figured out how to do partial transformation?_

At a high enough level, it was possible to manifest a certain aspect of an animalistic physiology. For him, he could independently manifest bat ears, claws, and wings.

With an eager, mischievous visage, Miu immediately sprung into action, rapidly throwing punches towards the boy who swiftly reacted with finely controlled movements of his body.

All it took was a subtle shift of his weight or a small lurching motion, and Pluto could evade each blow with minimal motion and effort. Yet, despite not receiving the attacks directly, he could feel a powerful breeze brushing past his face. The inhuman force behind those strikes suggested that the girl had retrained most of her physical boost despite her partially transformed state.

"Your first weakness," he noted to her. "Telegraphing."

"Telegraphing?" Miu repeated the word as she swung out a punch only to hit thin air.

"Your movements are too wild and untamed. There's too much motion in your punches. The arcs of your strikes are too wide and reckless. Telepathing your attacks means that your body language is way too readable. A basic example is if someone winds up their fist, then you'd anticipate them to throw a punch." He raised up his bare fists in a guarding position before striking.

Swift, sharp and heavy, he landed a simple punch that hurled the cat-girl away as she tumbled across the ground. But as simple as the punch was, it demonstrated true mastery of the basics. Miu, even with her feline eyes, could not react to the punch in time. There were no visual cues to suggest that he would execute his punch. His fist simply seemed to have grown bigger as it approached her; no winding seemed to have occur.

She lunged at him again, locking her sights at his left side before executing a roundhouse kick. However, her kick was jammed part way through as her opponent blocked it with his own foot.

"Just now, your eyes shifted towards my left thigh, suggesting that you were thinking about kicking me there. It's not just about winding up your strikes. I can read your eyes as well. If you want to kick me, don't veer your glance away."

"Your second weakness," he uttered, "Isolated body movement."

"Gah!" Miu was blown back by what felt like a superior force.

"You treat your punch as if it's about throwing your arm out. The power of a punch comes from the entire body. It is the synergy of every muscle in my body working together surpasses the muscles in your single arm."

"You mean…," Miu lowered her head, reflecting upon the implications of his words. "I can get… even stronger?" It was hard to believe. She already felt unimaginably powerful, yet there existed a means for her to unleash even greater strength.

"That's right. To be honest, I'm hesitant about training you. If you learn the master your Devil Fruit power, even I will struggle against you."

Miu immediately clung onto his sleeve, "Teach me more!" Her eyes sparkled with passion as they stared directly into his violet eyes.

"Wha-!?" Pluto lurched back. "Why do I have to teach you?"

Throughout that day, Miu perpetually followed whether the boy went, pestering him to train her.


	10. Kidnapped

**Pluto – Age 10**

He couldn't sleep. Even with his eyes closed, he heard screams resonating in his mind. He heard gunshots piercing from the distant. He heard the gush of blood being spilled from corpses. His hands felt stained no matter how many times he washed them, constantly smelling like blood. While the war had ended, it continued to haunt him. Day after day, night after night, he fought on the battlefield. All alone. Against everyone.

Even on this seemingly peaceful island, he was tired of listening to this world and sick of the blaring sound of human voices. They all wandered about with their limited perception under the evening sky, oblivious to the heinous acts occurring behind the curtains. He was tired of hearing the voices of despair, people who are scared for their lives and had no one to help them.

As he perched at the edge of a snow-covered rooftop, his head tilted to the side drowsily. A strap of grey cloth was wrapped over his eyes and tied behind his head, blinding him. He felt specks dwindling onto his cheeks before melting into cold, icy water. Every intake of air brought in a frigid wave to his lungs.

 _I'm tired. I… hate this world._

He was tired of fighting. In the end, there was only so much a mere child like himself could accomplish. His eyelids felt heavy; he desperately needed sleep. But nightmares haunted him every day. The fear of death gripped tightly around his heart. He missed the days of being at home, killing off prisoners one by one as part of his training and getting to see his adorable little sister at the end of the day. He missed her smile, her hugs, and the gentle sound of her voice. What was it like again - the innocence of a child? Someone who was pure, untainted by the world's darkness. If only everyone could grow up and remain innocent and pure.

But now, he had spent his days in foreign lands, killing off all sorts of people and clashing with the most unorthodox of combatants. And at the end of each day, exhausted and psychologically shaken, he would return to his father, the man who forged him into a living weapon through an ancient martial art style passed down secretly in their lineage. There would be no little sister to greet him and cheer him up. He was alone, forced to wear a cold, undaunted mask in front of his father to hide his discomfort.

In the midst of all this cruelty which he had witnessed, there was only one strand of thought that remained which his mind clung onto. The image of his sister, Rebecca, kept him at peace. It kept him sane. It kept him alive. She was the only reason left for him to live, the only one who he looked forward to seeing again. No matter the cost, he must fulfill his promise to her, the promise of returning to her.

He heard a voice. His ears perked up in response to a pure, angelic voice humming and singing. He was almost hypnotized by her lullaby. A sweet tone from what sounded like a young girl. It was the most pleasant and soothing sound he had ever heard. It was music.

Gradually, his body tilted to the side, lying against the snowy surface of the roof. He immediately fell asleep.

Meanwhile, down below in sidewalk, a ten-year old brunette looked up at the dark sky with snowflakes slowly falling towards the pure white ground. She hummed a light-hearted tune. Every graceful stride she makes was like that of a dancer, fluid and energetic. She wore a light-blue coat and a crimson scarf raveled around her neck.

Her eyes suddenly caught sight of someone up on the roof, and to her surprise, that someone appeared to be a child – a motionless, unconscious one stuck up there in the middle of the winter night. That image of the boy became the last that her chestnut-colored eyes saw before a looming figure crept up from behind.

"MMM!" Her fearful cries were muffled by a gloved hand cupping over her mouth from behind.

"Don't move," a sinister voice warned her as a cold steel blade pressed up against her neck.

One after another, shadowy figures emerged from the unknown. They all were dark winter attires, armed with common weapons, akin to a group of bandits. They did not appear to be pirates, not a single Jolly Roger in sight.

With a single, powerful leap, a man landed on the rooftop where the raven-haired boy slumbered. His arm scooped the kid up by the waist, and in a single leap, he descended to the street, regrouping with the other ambushers.

"Too easy," one of them commented.

"Hasn't anyone told you not to walk all alone at night, little girl?"

Suddenly, a spark of violet flashed in a split second. "Arugh!" The holder of the boy felt a shock running through his arm, leading him to drop to the kid who thumped onto the snowy ground.

"What's wrong?" the others grew alarmed.

The man rubbed his hand, feeling a bit numb. He didn't quite understand what just happened. "Nothing. Just a static shock."

"Well, those are more common during the winter," another man tried to justify the theory.

But something felt strange. They all felt the same inkling; it was at that moment that their eyes flickered towards the boy lying flat on his stomach. "!?" Like a zombie rising from the dead, the blindfolded kid slowly clambered onto his feet, now standing idly still like a statue. He didn't mutter a single word; he showed no sign of surprise or confusion. There was not a single readable expression on his face.

"So, you're awake, huh?" The same man who dropped him walked up to the little one with a menacing approach. His large, beefy hands reached out to grab the kid, but in that split second, the boy did the unexpected and stepped past his arms. Something was eerie about his movements; they were silent and phantasmal, slow yet unpredictable. The child nonchalantly reached out and seemingly pressed his palm lightly against the man's abdomen.

"Hm?" The brute raised a brow, confused as to what this kid was trying to do. Then suddenly, the boy was dozens of meters away! The man was being hurled back after an impulse of force repelled him into the far distance. "Arugh!" He crashed straight through a wooden wall of a closed shop.

The gang of hunters watched with aghast faces. Did that little kid just launch a grown man flying with a single hand?

Two men immediately jumped for the boy from either side. The child was merely standing there, defenseless and without a guard. Fists flung forth, aimed to strike at him.

Just a few inches of shifting his weight, the boy moved side to side with minimal motion as the incoming fists slipped past his face. With a drop of his weight, he learned forward, ducking down as a kick swung from behind and flew over his head, grazing against his hair.

The two strikers were greatly disturbed. Why were their hits missing? The boy was blindfolded and shouldn't be able to see them. Did this kid had eyes at the back of his head?

"GRR! QUIT MESSING WITH ME!" Jabs, hooks, uppercuts, kicks, the brawler dished out several combos of movements, yet despite his ferocious movements, his puny little opponent was evading each single attack flawlessly. With just the tiniest of motion, the boy could evade with the assault being a hair's breadth away from contact.

"ARUGH!" The muscular brute concaved his torso as the kid struck him with an elbow, ramming straight into his guts. His head then flew back as a rising fist struck him in the jawline, "KAH!"

"What the…," the man, who's in possession of the brunette, was flabbergasted. Just who was this boy? Or rather, just what was this kid? Retreating, he dragged the girl along with him. It would be best to just leave this boy alone and take what they can get.

"Tch! That's it!" A gunman reached into his holster and pulled out a revolver. "This kid is dead!"

"Wait! Don't!" Another hunter warned. They needed these kids unscathed.

Two gunshots echoed.

The gunman glared in disbelief. He missed both shots. He rarely missed. Could it be that this boy had evaded his bullets somehow? In a blink of an eye, his little opponent flickered like as black streak with monstrous speed. After passing his defenses, an elbow thrusted into the man's solar plexus, causing the torso to concave. The boy gripped a handful of the man's hair, yanking the head downwards as he smashes his rising knee into the face. Finally, the elbow which he used to strike circled around into a sharp drop, hammering down into the back of the skull.

Within three precise strikes, the gunman dropped to his knees, collapsed onto the ground and was rendered unconscious with a bloodied, broken nose.

The brunette suddenly felt the grip of her captor loosen, followed by the crunchy sound of a body thumping against the snow. She was mesmerized at the little boy's movements. She didn't understand what he just did. He was so far away, yet with a blurred motion of his arm led to the collapse of the man right behind her.

Unexpectedly, the boy immediately toppled forward, landing face-first into the snow. Motionlessly, his body lied in the middle of the road.

"What are you doing?" a snobbish voice sounded from behind as a short, rotund man in a white suit and a yellow tie entered the scene. His black hair was combed with an antenna-like extension on top. He had pale-skin and thick lips; his entire head incased in a large, transparent bubble. Wearing dark-green gloves and shoes, he was completely covered from head to toe, isolated from the very atmosphere that the 'commoners' breathed in.

The brunette widened in her eyes in shock as she turned around, hearing the cock of golden pistol pointed straight at her. Even though this was her first-time meeting one in person, she knew exactly the kind of prestige this man held. Everyone knew about them. Children were taught and warned about them. Even pirates and outlaws did not dare mess with them. They stood at the top of the World Government, above even the Five Elders.

This man was a Celestial Dragon. And thing he says was the law.

…

The dungeon was on the bottommost floor of the giant ship. Several cells lined up against the walls on either side, partly filled with captured youths, ranging from children to young adults. It was the younger ones that would last longer as slaves; they had greater value in the market.

In one of the cells, a black-haired boy sat in the deepest corner of the room with crisscrossed legs and an upright spine. As his wrists were shackled together by iron cuffs linked by a short chain, his fingers were interlocked, resting on his legs, palms facing upwards, thumbs touching at the very tips. His chin was tucked in; his eyes were covered by a strap of cloth that was tied into a knot behind his head. A thick metal collar was locked around his neck.

Keeping his distance from the rest of his cellmates, the boy quietly meditated with a calm demeanor. There were five other prisoners along with him, mostly children. Albeit blind, he could feel their despair emanating from their slouched bodies with hanging heads of dreary gloom.

Guards would patrol down the corridor, checking each cell to keep the slaves in check should any of them act rebelliously or make too much noise. They were cladded from head to toe in smooth silver armor, blue shoulder guards, and a pointed helmet that covers their entire head. In one hand, they would always carry along a wooden spear at their side as their choice of weapon.

Another batch of captured prisoners descended the stairs in a beeline with their wrists shackled together in front of them as they were escorted into their respected cells. The iron gate to the boy's cell opened as a little brown-haired girl was shoved inside before the clang of metal reverberated from behind, sealing her shut with the other children. She squatted in place, arms huddling around herself as she shivered. She could see her own breaths as puffs of steamy air. Specks of snowflakes glittered her body, slowly melting on her blue long-sleeved blouse. Her wrists were cuffed together like every other captive, and just like everyone else, an irremovable metal collar was locked around her neck with two little spheres at the front.

The guard standing right outside slowly pointed towards the cell and asked his colleague to his flank, "Hey! Why is he the only one blindfolded?"

"I don't know. We weren't the ones who put the blindfold on him. They said he was like this when before they first captured him."

"W-What? … Why doesn't he just take it off?" He pondered. The boy may be handcuffed, but his hands were still in front of him and perfectly capable of removing the cloth off his face. As much as they were upholding restrictions upon these captives, blindfolding was not one of them. What a strange boy, purposely blinding himself like this. Was he too scared to look? And just what was he doing, sitting there with such good posture? Was he doing some form of yoga to calm himself down? What a weirdo. Everyone else was quivering in fear except for this boy who's just nonchalantly sitting there, meditating. How strange.

The little brunette listened to the guards' conversation as she turned around to cast a curious glance at the boy that they were referring to. She had never seen someone so young to be meditating, a skill which required a great deal of patience that children usually do not possess. Judging from his size, this little boy appeared to be about the same age as her. But, unlike the rest of the prisoners, he gave off a mysterious vibe, calm and fearless. This raven-haired child did not seem to be the slightest bit afraid about their dire situation whereas everyone else was terrified for their lives, drowning in the imageries of their bleak and gruesome future.

She had been so terribly scared upon being captured. Her heart had sunken into a pit of fear; she was on the verge of giving up hope. But, for some reason, when she looks at this boy, it soothed and calmed her down. This was the same boy who took down a few of the hunters earlier before collapsing without warning. This kid was not normal; he was a clear outlier among the captives here. But something felt off when she saw him fight, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Furtively, she crept closer to him before sitting right to his flank. Her brown eyes analyzed him attentively, studying his relaxed posture. It was then that she felt warmth radiating from his body.

Meanwhile, Pluto, who trying to _empty_ his mind, was slowly starting to feel a disturbance in his vicinity.

 _Why do I feel like I'm just being stared at?_

He couldn't quite tell if this was Haki or something else entirely. Learning a completely new sense was extremely difficult. Navigating through crowds of people was a nightmare at first. He kept bumping into people and occasionally walk straight into walls. But now, he was at the brink of being able to sense the tiniest sliver of presence.

A gentle girl's voice whispered to him from just inches away, "Hey!"

Startled, he flinched, accidentally slamming his head against the side of the wall as he reflexively lurched away, "Ow!" Hands rushed towards the side of his head, rubbing the bruise away.

 _HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN THERE!?_

Meditating to awaken Haki was difficult. How was he supposed to empty his mind and sense his surroundings at the same time? It just didn't seem possible. If he exerted mental effort to monitor his surroundings, then his mind wouldn't be empty anymore and instead full of thoughts. But if he emptied his mind, then he didn't have the mental capability to analyze his surroundings like when this girl snuck up on him just now. Throughout the past year, he had meditated every day without fail, isolating his mind from the outside world, cultivating this mysterious power known as Haki. In order to slay a certain someone, he must surpass himself and close the gap between him and his goal. Only then would he be freed from his destiny.

The brunette widened her eyes in surprise, before covering her mouth in trying to hold back a chuckle. Hearing him say 'ow' and witnessing him accidentally slam his head against the wall had humanized this otherwise enigmatic boy. She had thought that he was some sort of monk who wouldn't utter a sound. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?" she asked curiously.

 _Stop talking to me. I'm trying to empty my mind._

He ignored her, returning to his upright posture. Hopefully, she'd just go away in response to his silent treatment.

"Hmm?" The brunette outstretched a hand, slowly feeling heat radiating from the boy. Gently, she pressed a palm on the side of his arm, and warmth flooded into her cold hand.

"AH!" Pluto flinched again, jerking away the moment he felt something cold touching his arm.

"You're so warm!" the girl said excitedly with a smile forming on her face. The boy was almost unnaturally warm; he was wearing a cloak around his body, but the layer of cloth didn't seem thick enough to fend off against the freezing temperatures. Yet, his body can generate so much heat.

"And you're so cold!" he retorted.

"Hmm?" she leaned closer, claiming her little victory, "So, you _can_ speak!"

He tensed up, realizing that he had muttered audible words to her. "Tch," he gritted his teeth. The boy adjusted his seating, facing away from her as he tried to regain his concentration to meditate. Soon, he felt a pair of palms pressing against his back, and in between those palms was a cheek nuzzling against him. He could feel his warmth being robbed away as if a certain someone is leeching off of his warmth!

"GAH! Leave me alone!" He exclaimed before gesturing towards the other side of the room, "Go sit over there and be depressed like everyone else in this cell."

The girl simply giggled at his reaction. "But you're sooo warm! I can't help myself," she said innocently. Then, a flash of grey covered her entire field of vision followed by the sound of fluttering cloth. She felt an extra layer draping around her body, and when her eyes glanced down, she saw the same cloak that the boy was wearing. This sudden act of kindness took her by surprise, especially coming from someone who seemed so aloof.

Without another word, Pluto clasped his fingers together, crisscrossed his legs, and began to meditate. He was wearing a long-sleeved dark-cyan shirt, and despite having a single layer of cloth protecting him, he appeared unaffected by the cold. Through his meditative practices, he could increase his body temperature at will, and being native to the North Blue, he had an innate tolerance to the cold.

"Are you sure?" she asked while tightening the cloak around her body. The cloth had absorbed much of the boy's heat, and even just the residue was enough to warm her up entirely. But she was now concerned about him, "Won't you be cold?"

"I don't need it," he stated firmly.

Her arms wrapped around herself, embracing the warmth. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "You're amazing. I've never seen anyone fight like you before."

He subtly raised his head. "Fight? What do you mean?"

"Hm?" she looked at him puzzlingly. "You fought against some of the ones who captured us."

"Eh? I did?"

"You don't remember?"

"All I remember was falling asleep on a roof," he admitted.

The brunette blinked. Strange. Did this boy really not remember fighting against those men from before?

"Hey," she called to his attention, "Aren't you scared?"

"Of what?"

"We're going to be slaves. Doesn't that scare you?"

"I'll just escape before that happens," he said simplemindedly.

The girl tilted her head, "How?"

"It's a secret."

"Hmm…," she couldn't help but believe him. As far as she could tell, his confidence wasn't a bluff at the very least. "But, if you escape, the explosive in your collar will detonate."

The boy turned pale white upon. "EH!?" he gaped as his hands hesitantly reached for his collar. "There's an explosive?"

"You didn't know?" She tilted her head, a bit concerned if the boy's original plan of escape was ruined. "If you are out of range from the owner or try to forcefully break the collar yourself, it will explode. Once you're captured by the Celestial Dragon, you can't escape, or else, you'll die."

 _Ah…, this is bad…_

The collars around everyone's necks were set to explode if anyone tried to escape. Captured by the Celestial Dragon, the little assassin was now being to slavery at this very moment.

Can he escape?


	11. The Celestrial Dragon

Having woken up on a prison ship, Pluto had found himself trapped in a cell with five other prisoners. All the captives were soon-to-be slaves for the Celestial Dragons, the descendants of the Twenty Kings who have established the World Government that controls much the nation today. Even his father had warned him about the existence of the Celestial Dragons and that even he, as an assassin, should never mess with them. Doing so would be equivalent to declaring war with the world itself.

 _Ah… let me weigh my options here… I can either continue to be a murderer… or become a slave._

For the longest of times, he had feared of being doomed to being nothing more than his parents' soulless killing weapon, and technically, being a slave of a Celestial Dragon would indeed free him of his former destiny since not even his father can do anything about that. In other words, if he obediently becomes a slave, he didn't have to be an assassin anymore. On the other hand, being a slave was a horrible idea, not to mention he wouldn't get to see his little sister again. Being a slave was an order of magnitude worse than his current predicament. And it was the only thing that could rob the last remaining grain of freedom he had.

 _Hmm… I guess I'd rather stay as a murderer._

A scream.

It was from another cell. His human ears perked at the sound of a boy's cry of pain along with a sizzling of something burning. Muffled whimpering and sniffling followed.

It was happening all over again. The cacophony of the world. Why? The war was over. He thought he had made it through to the end. Why was there still screaming? Why did he sense fear lingering in the air?

Moments later, someone let out an ear-splitting screech, this one coming from a girl from a nearby cell. He could hear the neighboring prisoners, including his current cellmates, crowding towards the barred gates, petrified at what was happening. They saw a man in a white suit wearing a spherical bubble helmet along with two armored guards with him. It was the Celestial Dragon. They saw a little girl being pinned to the ground by two guards. She lied on her stomach with her shirt uplifted. She screamed and squirmed in agony as a bloodied mark was scarred onto her back. The World Noble stood behind her with a wide, sadistic grin on his face. In his left hand, he held a long pole with a molten-hot stamp at one end. His tool radiated heat and smoke, glowing with the color of lava. With that tool, he had burned the little girl, placing the mark on her very flesh, appearing like a footprint. A circle with three triangles splayed at the top and one pointing down at the bottom, a mark that many in this world were very familiar with. It was the mark of a slave, symbolizing one as being the property of the World Noble. Anyone who sees such a mark would immediately abandon their moral compass, never to aid the slave in fear of provoking the wrath of the gods.

 _You're horrible, Pluto. You can save them. You have the power to help them._

 _Humph. Like I'd care. Why should I risk my life for these complete strangers?_

The black-haired boy remained blindfolded in the back corner of his cell, still trying to meditate but with little success. His concentration had been shattered into a million pieces ever since that girl from before interrupted him, and now there was perpetual siren of high-pitched screaming and wailing at the top of one's lungs. He didn't need to see. He didn't want to see. The world was too ugly. It sounded horrible. It smelled horrible. Everything about this world made his senses cringe.

Another kid let out a shriek with the faint sound of frizzling flesh as one would expect to hear when grilling meat. The screaming continued until they would faint from the sheer gruesome pain. And all those who watched were utterly petrified, struck with a deadly bolt of fear for their own lives. Helplessness. Defenseless. Vulnerable. This was just merely the beginning of their grim, miserable future filled with pain and suffering.

 _They're just children. They're innocent. Just like your little sister._

 _Declare war on the World Government for the sake of these brats? How irrational._

 _Even so, they're going to try and burn you eventually. What will you do once it's your turn?_

… _I don't know…_

 _You've lived through war. You have a high pain tolerance. But what about the others? This will scar them mentally. This will traumatize them. Are you just going to sit back as each one of them lose their innocence? Once you become a slave, there's no return. You are forever scarred. PTSD, you've seen it before. You've felt it before. Now imagine that happening to all these little kids. All their future forever robbed. Their potential crushed._

 _Shut up! I kill people. I don't save them._

 _That's just your father's brainwashing talking. You want to save them._

 _Irrational! They're strangers. Saving them does not benefit me in the slightest. I don't even know these people!_

 _It's not about what's rational or not. It's about doing the right thing._

 _Morals. I don't have them. They're just social constructs to keep a society functioning, nothing more. Moralities serve no benefit to me because I don't live in a society. I wander from place to place to kill whoever hires us._

 _Trying to be a pragmatist, huh? Then tell me, what benefit does going back to your sister give you? What value does Rebecca have to you?_

 _She… keeps me human._

 _And? Can you still call yourself a human by letting everyone here suffer to the point of wanting to die when you have the power to stop it?_

 _You want me, a ten-year old, to declare war on the world?_

 _Declare war on the world? Pluto, you've hated this world for a very long time. Perhaps, you should declare war._

The sound of tearful begging and pleading in the background before another prisoner, a boy, screamed and howled as he the skin and flesh of his bare, naked back melt at the press of molten hot steel. The Celestial Dragon let out a barbarous laughter, clearly enjoying himself. He acted like a child having fun stomping on ants and watching them react to his power. To him, these kids – or any mortal for that matter- were all just subhuman in his eyes; it was all their fault for not being born as a World Noble.

Hands clenched tight. Pluto clattered his teeth. His limbs convulsing.

 _I must stay calm._

 _If Rebecca keeps you human, then what would she say to you if she were right here? She'd be so disappointed in her older brother who's just hearing everyone's screams and doing nothing about it._

 _No. I must stay calm._

 _Oh? Perhaps you're afraid. Because the last time you tried to save someone, she died right in your arms. Vivio, was it?_

 _Shut up!_

 _You're afraid of failing! You're afraid of being responsible for further tragedies. You blame yourself for her death. You see yourself as a plague that brings misery and destruction to everyone you meet. You are afraid! A coward!_

 _Stop talking to me!_

His cellmates were suddenly panicking, retreating to the back end of the cell. Their eyes widened with fear as they saw the vile man in the white suit and bubble helmet approached their cell next. The iron gates slid open as the three adults stepped inside, the middle one having a diabolical grin.

"Now then," the World Noble scanned around the cell, eying each one of his future slaves who are cowering against the wooden wall. "Who's first?" Of course, no one volunteered. "Then," he gestured towards one of them, "Let's do the cute one first. I want to hear your scream."

 _I have no idea who he's pointing to, but I am assuming the 'cute one' is not me._

The footsteps of two guards stepped forth to seize a brunette, each clenching one of her wrists and dragging her away from the wall. They showed no mercy when throwing the girl straight into the cold, hard floor with a hash thump. Each of her arms were pinned against the floor by the weight of an adult. Her grey cloak was stripped off her and tossed to the side. Her coat was next. Then, they upheaved her shirt, exposing her bare back to the frigid cold air.

The Celestial Dragon pulled the steel rod out of a bucket of heated rocks as sparks flashed. Freshly heated, the round flat tip of his polearm glowed orangish red. A blurring effect radiated outwards, indicating its scorching temperatures.

Shivering uncontrollably from both fear and the cold, the brunette shook her head violently, desperately squirming as she knew exactly what was about to come. Her eyes widened at the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind.

"Now don't hold back," said the sadistic World Noble. "Scream as loud as you want!"

 _The girl is crying, screaming, begging… practically the only sound we've been hearing over the past year. It's driving you mad. You're going insane, and you know it._

 _Stay calm… Stay Calm… STAY CALM!_

 _You failed to save Vivio. Don't make the same mistake twice!_

A streak of black sliced across the room.

"Eh!?" The rotund man widened his eyes as his molten-hot rod was missing from his gloved hand. He caught sight of a small blur that flickered across the room. Glancing above, he saw a little bat whose feet grabbed onto the steel rod. But, how did a bat managed to get inside the cell? His jaw immediately dropped as soon as the little flying critter expanded into a winged, humanoid monster.

Propelling off the ceiling with his feet, the dark devil rocketed straight down, slamming a black fist straight through the Celestial Dragon's transparent helmet. Knuckles collided into his cheek as the man was knocked straight into the ground, head crashing through the planks of woods as if a bowling ball had been dropped. A dexterous hand skillfully flipped the steel rod in its hand before hammering down the glowing molten end into the man's chest, burning through the clean, white jumpsuit.

"ARUGH!" The man with a swollen face began wailing; his limbs failing about as a small demonic boy was squatting on top of him with black claws of his feet digging into flesh.

The sound of metal clanged against the ground along with the jingling of chains. The collar and handcuffs which were originally on the sightless boy had fallen to the floor, still locked, intact, and unbroken. By transforming into a bat, Pluto had escaped out of his constraints due to his small size.

The two guards, who were pinning down the brown-haired girl, quickly grew alarmed. Their heads cocked towards their divine lord who was lying on his back, helmet popped, and a devil plaguing him from above. Releasing their hold on the girl whose bare back remained unmarked, the two armored guards held their spears in both hands, lunging forth to attack the preternatural creature whose eyes were blinded by a knotted cloth around his head. Yet, despite being blind, the half-human responded swiftly.

In a single leap, the zoan-user evaded the duel thrusting spears and abandoned the steel rod in his hand. He clung onto the ceiling with his feet as he hanged upside down. The claws on his hands elongated and sharpened into blades. With two simultaneous swipes, he sliced their throats, bypassing the protective steel collar. The two guards staggered off as blood splattered out, staining their chrome-colored armor.

Clambering onto his feet, the Celestial Dragon was flabbergasted as he stared at the bat-like monster while staggering back. "Y-YOU! W-WHAT ARE YOU!?" He quivered fearfully, having never met anyone who dared to stand up to him, let alone wounding him. Veins bulged from his head. Being scarred by the mark of a slave was downright humiliating. And, now that his helmet had popped, he was forced to breath the same air as these filthy, lowly commoners.

The blind child descended from the ceiling, landing directly into a combative stance. While he cannot see with his eyes, he could still form a mental image of the world around him through echolocation. The depths and density of all matter in his vicinity, he could hear it all. His animalistic ears twitched at the sound of a pistol being clicked, indicated that it was unlocked and ready for usage. He sensed it; the barrel of the gun being aimed towards him as if it was moving in slow motion.

His first instinct was the dodge. However, the girl, who was about to be marked, was kneeling right behind him; evading would risk her being shot at. In this split second, the little assassin must quickly decide his response.

Focus.

 _Muscle Conversion: Fast-Twitch Fiber_

The triggered was pulled. The bullet was fired. In that instant, Pluto flickered an arm with both impeccable precision and timing, both slicing and deflecting the bullet with his weaponized claws.

"HM?" The gunman furrowed his brows. He heard the gunshot, but his target remained standing in the exact same spot, appearing unharmed. Did he miss?

Bang! Bang! As he backed off, two more rounds were fired, leading to the exact same result. The zoan-user blurred his arms, and the bullets would ricochet off the walls from the sides.

"DAMN IT!" The World Noble stepped out of the cell. Both of his guards had been slain by this beast. But there was one thing he could try. With his spare hand, he took out a device from his suit, "Don't move! Or, I'll activate the bomb in everyone's collars!"

Upon hearing this threat, the winged devil immediately froze, and all the prisoners were baffled. "W-Wait!" He called out, gesturing with an open palm. "But aren't they your slaves!? Don't you need them alive?"

"Hah!?" the man raised an eyebrow as if it was obvious. "I have hundreds of slaves already. I don't care if all you kids die here. I can always get more."

 _W-What!? This guy is insane!_

"Oh!? But it seems you care awful a lot about their lives. Then, do me a favor and stay still."

Bang!

A droplet of blood splashed against the floor. Pluto dropped to his knees as a bullet had pierced through his left leg. "Tsk," he gritted his teeth in frustration. He had the power to kill this man, but now, all the prisoners were held hostages used against him. How ironic. To think that he, an assassin, would be affected by the concept of hostages.

 _D-Damn… this coward._

Click!

"Hm?" The Celestial Dragon pulled the trigger again and again, realizing he was out of ammunition. "Tch.., well whatever, you can all die here anyways!" He pressed the button, and suddenly every collar began ticking like a clock. Right after that, he ran off, abandoning the children entirely.

The prisoners began to panic in their cells as each of their collars began ticking like a countdown for their demise. It was only a matter of time before everyone's heads gets blown off.

Gradually, Pluto pushed himself back up, limping as he turned around, facing the children whose fates were sealed shut. In just a few seconds, they would all die. Either become a slave or become a corpse, that was the cruel destiny placed onto those who wore these explosive collars.

He was beginning to regret his move. Had he not intervened, these kids may not have to die, not that the alternative lives would be any better. Once again, his actions would result in countless deaths. How was it that he was so naturally gifted at killing so many people without even trying to? Why? Why did it always have to end like this? It was always the same ending. Try to be the hero and everyone dies, it was the same story. What kind of curse was placed on him? This was exactly what his father wanted. A murder machine. He thought that he could at least pick and choose who dies, but apparently not. Anyone who meets him just would turn into corpses in front of his very eyes. He had the luck of a grim reaper.

 _Screw this. If they're going to die anyways, I might as well risk it and test my theory out._

If death was the worst-case scenario, then at the very least, anything he decided to do now couldn't possibly make this situation any worse for these kids.

He picked the same girl who he begrudgingly took a bullet for and gripped the top of her cranium with a firm grip, "Don't move!" He said almost threatening as the girl looked at him worryingly, finding herself being pressed up against the wall. One mistake and he might die along with them. He was the only one who wasn't constrained by shackles or the collar. He could so easily escape right now and save himself. But, for some reason that even he could not comprehend, he chose not to.

…

 **BOOM!**

A myriad of explosions detonated all at once. The collective force was enough firepower to completely decimate the hull of the ship. Chunks of wood scattered. A gust of seawater flooded in the gaping holes at the bottom level. A fire spread across the main deck, burning the sails. The entire vessel began to tilt as it slowly descended into the waters. The lopsided prison ship continued sinking until it flipped onto its side and drowned into the depths of the ocean.

…

The passage of time had passed under the starry night sky with a crescent moon beaming its soft rays of light down at the seas.

Lethargically, a girl opened her eyes, finding herself afloat on a wooden debris that used to be part of a wall. She was lying flat on her stomach against a hard, wet surface. Her hands clutched tightly on a grey cloak that was draped around her. She remembered grabbing this cloak for it did not belonged to her. She felt a foreign arm being wrapped around her back, keeping her tightly secured against the body of someone.

She turned her head, and her cheeks immediately reddened. Her face was just inches away from the youthful face of a little black-haired boy who appeared to be at her age. This was the same mysterious boy as before, the one who magically sprouted out bat-like wings, and more importantly, the one who stood up against a god. The blindfold which covered his eyes up until now was missing but she still couldn't see what his eyes looks like as they remained closed shut. Slowly, she pushed herself up against the floating debris as they drifted across the vast ocean without a single sign of land in the horizon. Her brown eyes gazed at the boy once more only to be filled with shock.

"H-Hey!" She called out to him with concern.

The boy was riddled with wounds across his back. In contrast, she was relatively unscathed. Did he shield her from the explosion with his own body?

Come to think of it, why was she still alive? Her hands quickly went for her collar which remained locked around her neck. Strange. Did it not detonate? But then, she noticed something was different about her collar. The only difference was that the two orbs which were normally found in the front were. Upon realizing that, she could start to understand what happened. Whatever fueled the explosion -be it gunpowder or some other substance- must have been contained within those two orbs. By slicing that component off her collar, even if the ticking timer reached zero in its countdown, the mechanism to trigger the explosion was disabled.

This boy had just saved her life.


	12. Reunited?

A ball of orange light drowned into the horizon of the seas, casting its majestic lights across the sky and coloring it in a gradient of red, violet, and blue. As the sun was setting, darkness was rising with twinkling stars up in the clear, black heaven. There was a new moon tonight, hidden from view.

Two years. It had been over two years since he had last saw her, but the drifting course of time did not blur his memories of her a single bit. He remembered her large, innocent eyes, small nose, and heartwarming smile. He worried if she still remembers him. What a strange feeling.

He knocked three times against the wooden door of a two-floored house. Moment later, he heard footsteps approaching from the other side, turning the knob and swinging open the entrance. A youthful blonde woman towered over him with a nun outfit. Her soft blue eyes gazed down at the little young black-haired boy with distinct eyes of violet. "It's you!" The lady spoke with a look of recognition. Although she had only met this kid once in the past and for a short period of time, how could she forget the strange kid who requested his little sister to be taken in by the orphanage?

"Do you remember me?" asked the boy in a polite and reserved tone.

"Yes. Are you here to see Rebecca?"

Slowly, he nodded in response. "Is she… still here?"

Silence. The woman paused for a moment before answering, "She is. But…"

Fear clenched his heart. Why was there a 'but'? She was currently here, so what was the problem?

"She's currently sleeping with a high fever. It would be best to let her continue resting."

 _She's sick?_

"May I… at least look at her?" He asked with deep concern shown on his face.

"Of course. Come inside. I'll lead you to her room."

As he stepped inside and followed the woman, over a dozen pairs of eyes from children casted their glance at his way. Boys and girls peeked from the side; curiosity intensified as they saw another child close to their age entering their home. They all suspected him to be another orphan who would live alongside with them.

But those eyes of violet reminded them all of someone amongst themselves. Their caretaker had escorted the guest towards a room on the first floor, opening the door before to allow him inside.

Hesitantly, Pluto mustered up the courage to enter inside the dark room with the lights off. In the further corner, he saw a bed with the silhouette of a small body beneath the covers.

"I'll give you some privacy," the nun closed the door before being swarmed by children from behind, all asking the same question.

"Mama! Who was that boy?" asked a little girl.

With a soft smile, the motherly figure replied in a soft voice, "That was Rebecca's older brother."

"Eh!? Her brother!?"

"Rebecca would always talk about him."

"When she first came here, she would always cry because he isn't around anymore."

"I've always thought her brother had died or something. Why has he been missing this whole time?"

"That jerk! Abandoning his own sister. How dare he show his face?"

"Now! Now!" the caretaker gestured them to lower their volume and settle down. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

Meanwhile, Pluto kneeled at his sister's bedside with his head hung low. He gently rested the back of his hand against the girl's forehead, feeling a scorching hot burn. For so long, he had done nothing but hurt other people. Yet, perhaps for the first time in his life, he wished he had the power to heal others.

"Rebecca," he whispered in an almost pleading tone. "I promised you that I would come back."

Later that night…

He was awoken from the sound of heavy breathing. Lifting his head from the bedside, he casted a glance at restless sleeper. Mumbling words sounded from her mouth, manifesting from her ravaging nightmare. "I'm here, Rebecca," he pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, robbing some of that excessive heat before stroking the back against her hair. "Your big brother will protect you. Forever."

Perhaps instinctively, the girl's body began to roll towards him with little arms reaching to grab whatever was there. Hands felt around and clung onto his shirt before reeling him closer until they could wrap around his torso.

"Eh?" Pluto felt a bit awkward now that she was hugging him in her sleep. Yet, something had clearly changed. Her breathing was steadier. She seemed more relaxed.

 _Wait! I'm not a teddy bear! Maru is a teddy bear!_

A small smirk grew on his lip. If his sister were to ever meet that talking panda, she would be overjoyed.

Morning…

Groggily, Rebecca slowly opened her eyes halfway, finding herself comfortably nesting her head against someone's chest. Her arms were wrapped around someone else. Wait… who was she embracing? Her head shifted to view the face.

"… P-Pluto?" Her eyes widened before tears welled up. Her heartbeat was racing. The image of that face etched deeply into her mind and heart had triggered a vehement response. "PLUTO!" She shouted exuberantly before rolling the two of them off the bed as they crashed onto the cold, wooden floor with a heavy thump.

"OW!" The boy woke up painfully while feeling a weight pressing against him from above.

"Pluto! Is that really you?" She said eagerly with both a smile and streaks of tears streaming down her cheeks.

A look of surprise was left on his face. "Rebecca! Are you alright? Your fever…," he tried to lean back up, but the energetic girl shoved him back onto the floor with a taut hug. "Ow!"

"I missed you!" She rubbed her cheeks against his face like how a cat might act. An air-tight squeeze with all four limbs constricting around him like a serpent.

A wave of warmth flooded into him, but it was much more than just that. Her breath. Her pulse. Her vibe. He had forgotten what it was like to be touched by a loving, living human being. It felt nostalgic, a feeling he wished to etch into his soul forever.

Rebecca meant the whole world to him. He promised himself to protect her even if it meant sacrificing his own life. He would kill anyone, even his own parents, if it meant saving her from depravity.

All the orphans sat amongst one of the several long rectangular tables that took up the space of the room. Dishes were served with utensils and napkins laid out in a neat and orderly fashion. Many glances were casted towards the siblings who were seated adjacent with one another.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck as the boy gazed off anywhere that would avoid eye contact. This was embarrassing, especially when his little sister was still glued onto him, little arms wrapped around him, unwilling to let go. He had to practically drag her along with him with wherever he went. But now that there were other people in the vicinity, all of whom he had never met before, being hugged felt extraordinarily shameful.

One thing was obvious, and it wasn't particularly favorable to him in his situation. Rebecca was rather popular. These orphan kids were either squeezing their way towards him or speculating amongst themselves in the distance. As the sister spoke about him, Pluto sat perfectly still, frozen like a statue.

He hated it. By extension of his sister's popularity, he was receiving a lot of unwanted attention.

And thus, Pluto and Rebecca lived happily ever after…

Or so it seemed.

…

Nearly a full hour had elapsed as the boy sauntered down the street. He wore a cloak that draped around his body and a hood over his head, shadowing his face. With a single arm, he carried a bag over his shoulder, heading back to the ship.

Ominous grey storm clouds had formed in the evening sky. There was a strong breeze in the air of the darkening town. Soon, it began to rain, starting from a small drizzle to a heavy downpour. No one was outside at this time and weather besides him - or so he thought.

Standing in the shadows was tall, slim man wearing a black suit, a white tie, and a large black top-hat. He had shoulder-length wavy, black hair which appeared both unruly and wild. He wore a pale white mask that covered his face but exposed his chin which showed a closed-shaved goatee. Perhaps, the most peculiar aspect of him was the white pigeon roosting at his right shoulder, wearing a little red tie.

"Who are you?" the hooded boy asked suspiciously, getting bad vibes from this man. It felt as if every cell in his body was warning him that this man was dangerous.

The lanky figure stepped a few strides forward, "In the name of the World Government, I'm here to execute you."

 **Rob Lucci – CP9 Agent (21 years old – two years before he began working as a spy at Water 7)**

The boy went silent, and the moment that white pigeon flapped its wings, the tension in the air ruptured.

"Soru!" In a flash, the masked figure reappeared immediately within striking distance. "Shigan!" At blinding speed, he thrusted forth his pointer finger straight towards the target's chest.

The boy reflexively swayed to the side, evading the piercing, penetrating strike which grazed and tore the fabric of his cloak. Had he responded just a split-second later, blood would have already been drawn from the first attack.

 _This guy… just used two of the Rokushiki techniques consecutively. Who is he!? His speed is monstrous._

Taking a half-step forward, he entered within range through a low, sideways stance. Twisting his waist, his arm snapped out like a whip, darting out a punch at the man's solar plexus.

Catching the clenched fist with his spare hand, the masked figure blocked with an open palm. "Impressive. So, you can keep up with this level of speed?"

He dropped his bag, allowing it to fall onto the ground.

A blurry streak slashed diagonally through the air, caused by a single upward kick. "!?" The striker would soon find the boy vanishing from his current spot. A heartbeat later, he, too, vanished as a sidekick phased through an afterimage that he left behind.

"Soru!" The man in the black suit flashed, appearing as streaks of black, blending in the rainy, dark setting.

 _Shadow Step._

The hooded boy responded similarly, dashing through the rain at blurring speeds.

Repeated clashes shook the air itself, creating expanding spheres of dispersed water droplets. After dozens of exchanged missed attacks, the smaller one landed the first blow, a thrusting elbow at the core of the enemy's torso. "!?" He rose a brow in confusion. Despite landing his attack, his opponent did not budge or falter. In fact, it felt like he just struck his bone against a mass of iron.

"Tekkai," the man stood perfectly still in a widened stance. "I commend you for being able to land the first strike on me. Your speed and reflexes are indeed superhuman. Unfortunately, you're up against someone who has mastered all six techniques of Rokushiki."

"Tch…," Pluto took a step back. "A full-fledged master of Rokushiki - just who are you?"

"I'm a member of CP9."

 _CP9!?_

Cipher Pol 9, a secret agency from the World Government, specializing in assassination. Supposedly, all members of CP9 were required to know all six techniques of the special, superhuman martial art known as Rokushiki.

 _This is bad…, he's not someone I can easily run away from._

Urgently, Pluto leaped back to gain some distance, but his opponent flashed right in front of him before his feet could even touch the ground.

"Shigan!" The CP9 agent wasted no time going straight for the kill. His finger pistol pierced through nothing but thin air as the target vanished. "!?" The white mask leered off to the side where a winged creature flew off into the distance. "Hmph. Running away, are you? Kamisori!" His being bolted through the air like a zigzagging streak of black lightning – a combination of both Soru and Geppo.

"!" Pluto gazed up, catching sight of a shadowy man appearing right above him. A foot stomped straight down, crashing straight into his guarding forearm. The winged figure plummeted straight through the rooftop of a small house. Landing onto his back, he coughed repeatedly as smoke and debris lingered in the air. "Urgh…," he groaned in pain, gritting his teeth as his body lied in the middle of a small wooden crater.

"Shigan!" The man jolted straight down, shooting his pointer finger straight towards the ground.

Immediately, the boy somersaulted backwards as the agent's arm punctured through the floor. Planks of woods splintered into the air. Hopping a few strides back, he began to realize that he didn't have any time for a breather as the next assault was already incoming.

"Rankyaku!" A horizontal sweep of the leg, the Rokushiki master unleashed a slicing projection of air, a crescent shaped blade that whistled across the room.

Jumping up, the boy collapsed his legs towards his abdomen as the projected slash breezed past him from below. The wall behind him ruptured from the aerial assault and with several supporting beams severed, the entire house began to cave in. Flapping his wings at his predator, the zoan-user simultaneously attacked and propelled himself backwards, launching himself out of the collapsing structure through the gaping open wall.

The wall of wind crashed against the CP9 agent, hurling him straight through the opposite wall. As the entire house collapsed completely, the man quickly clambered back to his feet, picking up his fallen top-hat in the process and putting it back onto his head.

Meanwhile, Pluto tumbled across the ground, rolling into a squat with a hand pressing against the earth to further support himself. His breathing grew heavy, "Haah... Haah… Haah…"

 _I need to… get out of here… He's too dangerous…_

"Coo! Coo!" A white pigeon fluttered its wings before perching on top of a nearby tree branch. Still wearing its red tie, the little bird stared the boy with its small beady eyes.

"!?" The hooded child suddenly lifted his head up, gazing into the dark rainy sky. A large, bulking silhouette hopping across the air as if there were invisible platforms floating above. The giant, burly figure rocketed straight down like a comet, landing right in front of the boy which shook the ground itself. Just the very impact of his landing generated a breeze of air which blew the child's hood off his head.

Violet-hued eyes gazed upon the enemy's new form which stood twice as tall as the man he was before. A large massive torso with huge meaty arms of raw muscle. Sleeves rolled up, exposing a leopard's coat of fur and dark claws for fingernails. His hind legs were like that of a cat. A long yellow tail swung out from behind with a black tip. The white mask was gone, revealing a hybrid of a man's face with the features of a large feral cat.

 _A Devil Fruit user…!?_

Of all the possible types of Devil Fruits, the Zoan-type was most suitable to close-range combatants. For a Rokushiki master to wield such a power, his physical abilities would be enhanced to a completely different tier of fighting prowess.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm also a Devil Fruit user - Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard."

"Tsk…," Pluto leaped back until suddenly a serpent-like appendage coiled around his waist and suspended him in the air. His hands grabbed onto the leopard's tail, struggling to break loose from its ensnarement.

"You've got nowhere to run now. You did well to survive this long against me. But, it's over now," the feline beast lifted the writhing boy higher up as he pulled back his arm with a pointer finger aimed straight for the child's heart. "Shigan!" His massive arm darted forth as his finger pierced through thin air.

"!?" The CP9 agent widened his eyes in surprise, not expecting his prey to slip away once again. A small black shadow fluttered the corner of his eye. Suddenly, a heel hammered straight into the leopard-human's face. The monster's torso lurched to the side after receiving the sharp aerial blow, but the strike simply didn't carry enough power to disorient his massive build. Stern eyes leered to the side.

A large beefy hand grabbed onto boy's lower leg that was used to kick him, and with his vice-like grip, he performed an overhead throw, brutally slamming the bat-human into the ground.

"ARUGH!" The youth cried out in pain, buried several inches deep into the compact layer of dirt and rocks, leaving behind a crater. His fingers gripped the ground, clenching tightly.

"Transforming into a bat at the last moment to escape, a clever move." The beastly feline raised his opponent up by the leg as the smaller fighter dangled upside down. "But, it's over n-," his words were cut off as a puff of dirt and sand flew straight into his eyes. Releasing his opponent, his large hands went straight for his face where his eyes squeezed shut, momentarily blinded. Immediately, his torso caved in by a penetrating, heavy punch; swept off his feet, his massive body hurled across several meters before crashing into the rubbles.

Without a moment of rest, Pluto jolted straight for the CP9 agent, but just as he was about to land a blow, his target vanished from the same high-speed maneuvering technique as before.

Hopping into the sky, Rob Lucci retreated into the air. Wiping his eyes with his forearm, the wetness of his fur cleared his vision completely thanks to the rain. Gazing down, he saw his aerial prey rocketing straight up with fully extended wings. There was a nice serious look in the boy's eyes. "Rankyaku!" He unleashed a slicing blade of air, shooting straight down.

The bat-human made minimal adjustments to his movements, twisting his body such that he flew past the arc of air where his wings were ephemerally parallel to the blade-like assault.

…

It was eerily quiet for Rebecca when she realized just how isolating it was to be in this room all by herself. Her brother was awfully late. What was taking him so long to come back? She missed him.

…

Two monsters clashed beneath the dark stormy rainclouds. The wind had become even more violent, causing the rain to slant and whirl around. The tailed beast propelled himself through the air by repeated high-speed stomping of his feet. He thrashed mercilessly with his long, bulky arms, striking repeatedly at the evasive, meandering foe whose wings made him more suitable for an aerial battle. His patience was running low. This was taking far longer than anticipated. Little by little, he noticed his prey beginning to adapt to his fighting style. This child relied on deflecting his attacks and counterattacking, each strike faster and sharper than the last. By being pushed to his limits, the boy was evolving.

"Seimei Kikan: Kami-e Bushin," the burly, bipedal feline suddenly grew lither, muscles on his body seemingly condensing into a more compact form.

"Urgh!" Pluto was suddenly struck by a knee to the abdomen; his body concaved by the blow. Another assault struck him from above, rocketing his body to crash straight into pavement, leaving a dented mark of cracked cement.

 _He's gotten faster!_

"ARUGH!" The boy cried out as a foot stomped straight down onto his back with the weight of several men behind the impact. A foot pinned him to the ground. He couldn't move.

"Haah… Haah… Haah…," The CP9 agent stood over the small child while panting.

"Pluto!?" a girl's voice called out through the loud, heavy rain. Long black hair, violet-colored eyes, the small youth glared with an incredulous expression. She saw a wild tailed monster in a black suit with a foot pinning down her older brother in the middle of a crater.

"REBECCA!" the boy bellowed raucously, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Eh?" She hesitantly took a step back. There was no denying those voice that belonged to, but she had never heard him yell at her like that before.

"Hmph," the leopard-human sneered, "so you've saved me the trouble of having to find you, girl. Soru!" The beastly feline vanished, instantly reappearing in front of the girl who flinched at his blinding approach.

"COME BACK HERE! YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!" an acrimonious voice echoed out as Pluto gritted his teeth, forcing his arms and legs to clamber himself back up. With a single propelling step, he rocketed straight for the half-leopard.

"Tekkai," the agent stood completely still as the boy struck him from behind. The attack, fueled with rage and fury, failed to even make a dent in his ironclad defense. Pivoting on one foot, the beastly combatant swung his leg out, roundhouse kicking the boy away.

Crashing straight through a wall, the brother was buried in a heap of debris.

"Hm?" the Rokushiki master gazed to the side, catching sight of the girl who's running towards the direction of her brother.

Pluto crawled out of the rubble of wreckage of stones and wood, desperately forcing his body to move urgently. He could hear his sister coming closer; his ears picked up her breath, her heartbeat, her footsteps.

And, then silence.

Blood dripped onto the ground. Pierced by a single finger from behind that's aimed at the heart, the small body collapsed to the cold, wet floor.

Tears welled up in his unblinking eyes. "REBECCA!" He screamed. His view of his sister was then blocked by a looming figure standing in front of him. A tail coiled around his neck, heaving him off the ground as he suspended into the air, dangling off his neck. His hands gripped the choking appendage; his legs flailed about helplessly.

 _I... promised... to protect her..._

"You're next," said the cold, merciless killer who's just oozing out bloodlust directed at the boy who has posed him a far greater challenge than he imagined. This boy, Pluto, had a committed a terrible crime at the age of eleven in the eyes of the World Government; he killed a Celestial Dragon. And as a result, Rob Lucci, the strongest in the history of CP9, was sent on this solo mission to kill him and anyone linked to him by blood. That was the fitting punishment of his Dark Justice.

"Shigan!"


	13. Black Heart

**Grand Line (Paradise): Athens Island**

It was two hours before midnight when a small ghastly cloud phased across the half-lit moon, blocking its lunar rays from reaching the earth below. Just moments ago, there were two scraggy, dirty men standing at the entrance to a giant tunnel; each armed with a rifle held in both hands. Their eyes saw nothing but pitch black in the far distance, and their neighboring colleague appeared nothing more than a vague silhouette. But now, they were reduced to mere bodies that laid flat on the ground right outside the tunnel to their hideout.

There existed a single train track that ran down the rough terrain of the abandoned mine, narrow enough to have a small cart to travel across. The tunnel had a circumference of over thrice an average man's height. Several dozen meters deep, dim lighting of pale yellow lit the area, casting shadows across the crevices and jagged formations along the fused walls and ceiling. A gang of riffraff hang out in this area, sitting along the edges as they waited for time to pass by. Relaxed and carefree, some had their heads rest against their palms; they expected nothing but boredom to come. Day after day and night after night, not a single soul dared to trespass here and made it out alive. Not even the marine forces that established their base on this very island had the guts to deal with them. Such was the balance between crime and justice where one could not overcome the other. Despite the pirates' secretive and shady means of conduct, the navy knew all about their hideout, yet they didn't have the nerve to mess with them upfront. Every single squad of soldiers that they have sent in the past had never been seen again. Their hideout was the most dangerous place throughout the island, riddled with a myriad of diverse pirates from different crews that have banded together to operate their illegal business.

"Could you believe it!? A marine lieutenant tried to come here all on her own," a hooligan initiated trivial talk to his fellow comrades.

"Hah-ha! I heard she got taken down by Toxic Rose. I wonder what's going to happen to her."

"Whatever it is, she deserves it for being stupid enough for coming here all by herself. This is why we have natural selection – to weed out idiots like her."

"Damn! If it were any other of the captains, that girl would be dead already. But, Toxic Rose is the type to break her opponent down physically and mentally. She'd probably torture that marine girl into submission."

"She might get some useful top-secret intel that the marines possess."

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, every single one of them was swept away by a powerful gust of air, hurling them deeper into the tunnel. Bodies tumbled across like ragdolls; they felt as if an invisible wall had just crashed and bulldozed them away. Screams and cries were muffled by the rush of wind.

Alarmed by the scattering of bodies that flew into the scene, the pirates that were stationed at a deeper region of the tunnel readied their weapons. Blades were withdrawn from their scabbards, and safety locks of firearms were clicked. With the duty to guard this tunnel, they automatically assumed an enemy attack, yet their minds still doubted the likelihood of that happening.

"Hey! What's going on?" One of the standing pirates spoke towards the general mass of groaning bodies that writhed on the ground. Suddenly, a single pair of footsteps echoed, sounding like a single individual approaching right around the corner. The pirates prepared as the shadow of the walking figure was first to appear. All the action took place within the next second as a streak of violet and black flashed before their eyes. Blurred afterimages of an enigmatic entity flickered within their field of vision, granting them no time whatsoever to make a move of their own. They couldn't tell where the enemy is for their pupils would always be one step behind.

A strange, alienating mixture of pain and numbness flooded throughout their bodies which were soon slammed against either the walls as they were all struck by an invisible force. Time seemed to have slowed down as they fell into a deep slumber right before thumping against the hard, cold ground.

The tunnel steeped ever so slightly down until a massive gate could be seen up ahead. The entrance was closed shut, taking on the form of twin wooden doors that comes together at the top as an arch, reinforced by steel bordering frames.

BOOM!

An explosive force had erupted forth as the gates were ripped off its hinges before flying and skipping across the floor in multitude of chunks and pieces. A shower of debris rained down as a murky grey smoke expanded out from the point of destruction.

Within the underground fort renown as Hannai, pirates from various crews were gathered here. Altogether, they were a force that rivaled even the marines on this island in terms of numbers. Criminals of all sorts throughout the massive, spacious area dwelled within this giant subterranean cavern with the ceiling reaching hundreds of feet high. Eyes darted towards the source of the thunderous sound that echoed throughout to the enclosed space. The gates to their private illegal business were destroyed, and the one responsible behind this took the form as a lone shadow standing idly within the fading silver smoke.

The very thought of someone barging in here was completely outrageous and downright suicidal. Already, someone attempted to intrude their fortress earlier today, and now someone else dared to make the same mistake. The humanoid figure calmly stepped out of the smoke, striding onwards without a shred of fear or hesitance. There was absolutely nothing spectacular about him in terms of size; in fact, he appeared to have a child's body. His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of a tightly-covering hood, and most of his body was cladded with light armory of a pale shade of dark violet. He wore forearm and shin guards as well as metal covering his groin, outer thighs, torso, and shoulders. His attire consisted of a high collar that protected his neck and dark-cyan undershirt and pants which are subtly noticeable between the gaps of his protective gear.

The intruder walked with eerily silent steps as if he was nothing more than a moving mirage. His hands were kept within his side pockets as he strode in nonchalantly.

"What are you fools waiting for? Take him down! Don't let him take another step forward," An authoritative tone echoed out as a single pointer finger aimed straight at the foreign figure in the distance.

An obedient swarm of men immediately charged forth, brandishing their melee weapons. Their faces wore expressions of savage beasts, showing their canine fangs. Like a pack of wolves, they partly encircled and attacked from several angles. Blades whooshed through emptiness, slashing at thin air as their hooded target vanished at the instant of nearly being struck. Clueless eyes darted around aimlessly; none of them could pinpoint the intruder. He seemed to have just disappeared!

"W-What!?" The golden-haired Skypian lurched back with a startled visage. Without a trace of sound or movement, the armored figure stood square on, being only a few meters away and standing in a daring manner; his hands remained in his side pockets. Without any guard up, he was leaving himself wide open to be attacked, yet there was an aura of confidence brimming from his actions alone. Just now, he had somehow managed to bypass the mob of armed men, crossed tens of meters in distance, and entered within close range of the pirate captain, Olimpo Scates. His gesture seemed to suggest that the other pirates were too far beneath him to be worth his time and effort and that it'd be more worthwhile to take on the stronger ones first.

For the time being, Olimpo did not sense any hostility from him.

Without any telegraphed gestures or visible motion, the mysterious combatant suddenly held a vertical outstretched fist with the middle knuckle of the index finger notably extruded out with the thumb tucked behind.

"Kuh!" The Skypian lurched and grimaced as he felt a sharp, penetrating pain striking him dead center in his solar plexus. He couldn't visually pick up the enemy's movements at all; the attack happened in an instant. The fist didn't even connect; it was out of range. Yet, somehow, he was struck with pinpoint accuracy. There was something very deceptive about his adversary as he struggled to grasp the enemy's attack range.

A fist was soon shot straight for his face, causing him to react, but a sharp blow struck him in the chin from below. "NGH!" His teeth forcefully clenched as his jaw was shut closed by the upper cut; his entire body was then heaved off the ground by a few inches.

 _He used a feint!?_

As fast as the first punch was, it was purposely slowed down to be visible, leading the second punch to be the true attack. While his body hovered ever so slightly off the earth, a snapping side kick launched him into the vast distance. The Skypian flew dozens of meters before crashing through a stone-brick wall. Only then did the mob of pirates honed in their attention towards the intruder. Their faces and bodies were frozen stiff at the sight of a captain being hurled away within a few heartbeats. Jaws were lowered; eyes were gawking.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" A slender man on a rooftop cackled out loud like a hyena. "You're pathetic, Olimpo Scates. Is that bounty of yours just for show?" Both his arms and legs were extraordinarily longer than a normal human; his arms in particular possessed an additional set of elbow joints as well.

The crowd of pirates down below all looked up and spoke his name in unison, "Lancelot Blackburne!"

In a leap, the longlimb human sprung himself towards the intruder, rocketing forth like a comet, "What do we have here?" Flipping himself once in midair, he repositioned himself to extend his leg outward, using the momentum to carry the power of his flying kick. His opponent stood his ground and faced him upfront, but up until the last moment, he pivoted on one foot, rotating around to opposition in a ghostly manner with minimal motion. Flying right past his opponent, Lancelot landed onto the ground as his boots slid across the rough terrain, creating two trails marked behind him. He turned around and immediately reengaged towards the face-concealed foe with a barrage of whip like punches. "HA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA-YA!"

Like a pair of serpents, the intruder's arms blurred almost completely out of sight as he deflected the rapid series of punches that rained forth from a multitude of angles. None of Lancelot's assaults were landing. Each hit felt so close to land its mark, yet each one deviated off course just enough to slip past the target. "You're not bad at all… Huh!?" The pirate redirected his attention the sudden bright light from his peripheral vision.

From the side, a conical stream of orange-red flames roared straight for the both of them, causing the two fighters to disengage and leap back from one another as a wall of fire flew between them.

A smirk grew on the Lancelot's expression, knowing full well who released that fiery assault. "Hey! Olimpo, you're still alive?" The longlimb teased at the now grumpy Skypian.

"Shut up!" The tall blond-haired man with small white wings on his back stepped out of the rubbles from the large gaping hole of a crumpling wall. From the palm of his hand, the source of the fire dissipated into hot wavering air, revealing a colorful rusty-shaded shell in his possession. "This guy... is a dead man! He's got some nerve humiliating me like that." His temper rose; veins bulged from his temples.

A completely new face then entered the scene. "Now, now... no need to get your tempers up high," a middle-aged man with short-groomed black hair and a mustache stepped into the scene. He wore a formal black suit and leather shoes and held a calm demeanor despite the tense atmosphere. With an ordinary-looking wooden cane held in his left hand, he slowly pulled the handle, revealing a long thin blade hidden inside. "This intruder of ours clearly isn't an ordinary fella. Now then, why don't we..."

CLASH!

"Ngh..." Pushed back, the wielder of the cane-sword parried against a sudden flash of black that crashed against the edge of his blade. Only a split second later did the butler mentally register the elongated, sharp black claws grown out of the user's fingertips, "You won't even let me finish my sentence, ay?"

A second swipe from other hand slashed through the air like lightning, forcing the older fighter to be on the defense as he parries with an adjustment of the sword's angle. "My, my... What a troublesome fighter you are."

"Master, allow me to assist you," a brunette in a maid uniform suddenly popped out from the side, approaching the clawed enemy towards mid-distance before swinging her hand out to throw three chrome-colored dining knives that have been sharpened to pierce more than just food.

With a raised arm, the tips of the knives simply bounced off the metal guard around the enemy's forearm. In an instant, the claw-bearing menace lunged forth, thrusting his elbow straight into the woman's solar plexus.

"AHHH!" The maid cried out as she was knocked off her feet and hurled straight into a nearby wall behind her. The crash left a shallow crater with a network of crevices on the grey stone surface.

The long blade-like claws instantly retracted back into ordinary pair of hands.

"Alice!" Meanwhile, the butler man called out the name of his underling from a sense of concern. His eyes grew stern towards the nimble fighter, "Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to hit a lady?" He rushed forth, wielding his rapier-like sword to thrust onward. His opponent intercepted his intent by simultaneously slipping past the blade while unleashing a punch that did not even physically connect. A sharp spear of air shot out from each of their attack, showcasing the force behind their execution.

"Kuh...," The elderly one reluctantly coughed out blood from his mouth, staining his white undershirt. He couldn't see it at all – his opponent's attack. The physical punch never connected, yet there was a sharp blow with needle-like precision that struck him in the heart. In that instance, he realized that the enemy's attire wasn't just for show and that he was up against a legitimate, skilled assassin.

"Sniping Fist," the intruder whispered in a detached, low tone. His right extended arm suddenly blurred into an a barrage of precise blows, and in a heartbeat later, pressure points in the arms, legs, and centerline were all struck.

Clatter!

The narrow sword fell onto the ground, and soon, the butler dropped onto his knees and collapsed altogether.

"Oi...," Lancelot gulped in disbelief. "Hey... Charles..., you're not actually down, right? Hey! Say something!"

"Humph, that old fool let his guard down the moment that maid of hers got hurt," said the blond Skypian.

"Damn it!" The longlimb human immediately dashed onwards towards the idly standing fighter whose back is turned towards him. This situation should have been over already. With a clear opening to exploit, Lancelot Blackburne jabbed with his right fist towards the intruder's blind spot.

Without the least amount of motion possible, the masked target merely tilted his head slightly to the right as a fist slipped right past the left side of his face. His head then tilted to the left along with a subtle shift of the weight towards his left foot, and the second punch whooshed past his skull from the other side.

 _Impossible! Does he have eyes at the back of his head!?_

For both consecutive attacks to have missed just like that, this clearly was no coincidence. This intruder must have some foreign, otherworldly ability to be able to sense him without eyesight.

Swiveling on his leading foot, Lancelot whipped out a roundhouse kick, aiming for a swift blow towards the temple, yet despite the speed and power behind his technique, his leg was halted to a stop in an instant. His brows tensed up as his ankle was trapped into a vice-like grip by the opponent's crossing arm. With the turn of the enemy's stance and waist, the intruder swung his arm around along with the entire physical body of the longlimb fighter.

The world went spinning around him as a strong breeze of wind blew against his hair. After being swung three-sixty in a circle, he was sent flying straight into the front entrance of a building, smashing through the wooden door, "Arugh!"

"Flame Dial!" Immediately, Olimpo unleashed another massive stream of orange-red flames that originates from the palm of his hand. The swift assassin dashed to the side in evasion even as the trajectory of the fire started following him with the sweeping motion of the Skypian's arm.

In a roundabout approach, the intruder bolted straight for the man with the small portable flamethrower, ready to engage him in a close-quarter combat.

"Humph!" With a smug, condescending look on his face, Olimpo outstretched another arm as soon as the output of the flames halted. "Flash Dial!" Closing his eyes and partly looking away, he released a blindly bright flash of white light illuminated the entire vicinity of the city block.

Seconds later as the light died down, the masked figure was left paralyzed with his arms crossed in front of his face. It was in that instance a loop made out of rope was dropped over his head before shrinking down and binding against his waist. From the sidelines, a young blonde girl stood confidently with a cowgirl's hat, a brown corset, shorts, and heavy brown boots. In her hands, she wielded nothing more spectacular than a long coiled up ropes that formed her lasso. Rooting herself to the earth, she pulled as hard as she could in order to tautly bind the target and hinder his movements. "Gotcha! You sure are a fast one! He's all yours, partner!" Her blue eyes shifted their gaze towards the man standing up at the rooftop.

Dressed in a cowboy-like attire, the gunslinger pulled out both of his pistols and aimed both barreled straight at the ensnared target down below, "Roger that! You just keep him nice and still for me."

BANG! BANG!

Two rounds of bullets were shot, and two small explosions erupted on the other side of the target.

"Eh!? Hey! What are you playing at? This is not time to be fooling around," the cowgirl scolded. That perfect opportunity that she had just set up to snipe the enemy down was now ruined.

"... I'm not fooling around..., this fella... just deflected my bullets with his forearms," the pirate known as Trenton Routledge, also known as the Silver Shot, responded to his right-hand girl. "Tsk... Did he regain his vision right at the last moment?"

"You! Woman!" Olimpo pointed straight at the blonde girl with the constraining lasso.

"You might want to let go of that rope right about now."

"Eh!? Why?" the cowgirl blinked.

"REJECT DIAL!" The Skypian planted his palm straight against the core of the armored fighter before unleashing a destructive energy from the most powerful dial of all. In an instant, the intruder could no longer be seen as his body was hurled away in the vast distance like a jet stream, crashing through several buildings that crumbled under its own weight.

"EEK!" The cowgirl widened her eyes in shock. Had she still held onto her rope; she would have been carried along with that powerful pulse of energy.

"Tch...," Olimpo gritted his teeth while gripping onto his right shoulder. Using the Reject Dial was commonly used as a last resort. The consequence was that the user would risk killing himself by the sheer amount of backlashing force. As of now, his right arm was completely busted, now limping by his side and screaming in numbing pain.

"A Reject Dial? Isn't that your trump card?" The gunslinger questioned the extent of how far his comrade had to go. "I didn't think you'd use that so early on in the fight. Wasn't that a bit overkill?" He sheathed his pistols by the sides of his belt; with a blast like that the enemy was already taken care of.

"You underestimate him. He took down Charles Vane in an instant and threw Lancelot as if he was a ragdoll. Both of them have bounties over fifty million as well. We're all top-tier pirates here, and we're being treated like ants."

The ground suddenly shook from heavy lumbering steps of a large brutish man with bulky mechanical arms. Leaving out the door of a building, he had to bend down just to lower his head and make his exit. "What's all the commotion about?" He snarled viciously before straightening himself up, standing over eight feet in height.

"Sorry, Bezio. You just missed out on all the fun. The intruder had just got taken down," the cowboy informed.

"An intruder?" The cyborg narrowed his eyes, mesmerized at the very thought of someone barging in here on their turf with so many pirate crews gathered in one place.

Meanwhile, several city blocks away in the underground fortress of Hannai, a crowd of pirates gazed in awe at the wreckage of the last building that someone had just crashed into. Smoke and debris lingered thickly in the air, obscuring their vision from what was inside the massive gaping hole. They all stared at the endless expansion of colored air, and within that white smog, a grey figure darkened into a black shadow.

"!" They were suddenly taken aback by an impending sense of trepidation; all of them instinctively drew out their weapons as a wave of bloodlust washed over them. The mysterious hooded boy, who stepped out of the clearing smog, staggered with each step, visibly disoriented from the blast he just received. It wasn't normal for a human to be able to stand from that force. This must be some sort of monster that had taken on human form. As he finally straightened himself up, his arms floated from either side in a smooth continuous motion, rising as his palms converged towards his center before sinking down along with his deep exhale through the nose. It appeared to a simple breathing technique, allowing him to regain his sense of balance and focus.

A torn rope remained dangling off his waist with numerous fibrous strands sticking out; a sharp tug was all it took to rip the lasso off of his body.

Tick!

With a giant bazooka resting on his right shoulder, a man, aiming from amongst the mob of pirates, pulled the trigger and fired with a backlash that shook him back. His eyes barely caught the glimpse of a motion blur from the target's right arm, and a split second later, an explosion erupted forty-five degrees away from the intended trajectory. "EH!?" The man widened his eyes and gaped in shock. There was virtually no shaking in his arms when he fired that shot; there was no way he could have missed – not by that much at least.

"What just happened?" The surroundings pirates witnessed the action sequence, completely baffled as to why the single enemy remained standing unscathed.

"Good grief," the pirate captain Trenton Routledge stood at the rooftop of the building opposite to where the intruder crashed through earlier. "Not only are you still alive, but you don't seem to have taken as much damage as I would have guessed. At the very last moment, you leaped back and crossed your arms right before the Reject Dial activated. Isn't that right? Your reflexes are quite scary indeed." Even though he noted that reaction from before, he still didn't expect the enemy to have survived the blast this well.

The hooded figure angled his head upwards, acknowledging the presence of the gunslinger and the keen eyes that this cowboy possessed. The spoken words were all true, but they were missing a critical aspect. At the very last moment, the boy coated his forearms with Busoshoku Haki which enhanced the defenses of his guard.

"What business do you have with coming here?" He asked authoritatively. Almost no one could barge in here uninvited and expect to live, yet this single soul caused enough damage to put their reputation at stake.

"I am looking for someone, and I know she's here," the intrude spoke for the first time, clearly sounding like that of a child's vocal cord, yet his tone was deprived of any emotion as if he had detached himself from all feelings.

Trenton paused for a moment, surprised to actually hear the man speak actual words. "Oh, you mean that marine girl? And what makes you think that she'd still be alive?"

The hooded figure remained silent for a short while. "If she's dead, then I'll just kill every single pirate here," he stated his answer rather simply.

"Hah!? You intend to wage war on all of us just by yourself? How ludicrous," he lowered his head, knowing full well of two impatient men who are eager to get in on the action.

From both flanks of the intruder, a large silhouette on each side rocketed forth to attack.

"METEOR SMASH!" Amatore Bezio launched forth his massive, bulky cyborg arm that radiated out steaming heat and static sparks. His arm rumbled like an engine gathering up power.

"IRON CRUSH!" A large towering man swung around an oversized mallet with a chrome-colored head and metal shaft that's wielded by both hands. Veins bulged from his arms, ready to unleash all of his might in a single swing.

In the pincer formation, the two powerhouses unleashed their attacks from opposite sides of the motionless figure of a much smaller stature. In an instance, both of their strikes landed and came to a sudden, unexpected complete halt. Their forces crashed up against a pair of black organic wall. The impacts made it seem as if they struck at an iron surface, yet there was some elasticity which acted as a shock absorber.

"Ludicrous, huh?" the boy said calmly with his hands in his pockets; all in the meantime, a pair of giant thickened bat wings had sprouted from his shoulder sockets and quickly shielded him from both flanks.

"A Devil Fruit user!?" The cowboy on the rooftop looked astonished by the sudden revelation. He watched the hybrid of man and bat swat his wings outwards, shoving the two towering brutes off their feet. The full wingspan must have been over seven meters across, and in addition, the lithe, armored foe now bared black hook-shaped claws on both hands and feet, granting him a more beastly appearance. "But..., you're nothing more than a Zoan-Type, the weakest of them all." The reveal of a cursed power was nothing to be concerned about.

A sudden gust of wind filled with muffled screams bulldozed the mob of fodder pirates straight into a gathering of wooden crates that snapped in unison as juices of fruits squelched out. With just a casual flap of his wings, the menace had cleared away an opening in front of him before ascending up into the air and gathering up the attention from numerous sets of eyes throughout the underground fortress.

BANG!

The gunslinger on the rooftop fired at the demonic target which soon vanished from his field of vision. A chill ran up his spine as a subtle breeze blew past him. He was able to visually keep up with the intruder before, but now he couldn't make out his movements at all. This must have been the result of the physical enhancement of his Devil Fruit power.

 _He's faster than before!_

The winged monster was decelerating right behind his back with a fluid and smooth turn of his body. Just as the gunslinger turned around with his pistols swinging across, a barrage of consecutive hits battered him throughout his upper body; each strike aimed precisely at his vital points. It was as if he was standing at pointblank range in front of a Gatling gun that fired out rubber bullets. He immediately lost control over his arms that was mixed with both pain and numbness. His twin pistols fell out of his hands as his body swayed back all on its own.

SWISH!

The longlimb human -Lancelot Blackburne- sliced his leg straight across, yet despite being attacked from behind, the zoan-user lurched to the side by dropping his weight onto one leg and lowering his stance. The pirate's kick had whistled over the target's head. As soon as he landed back down, he immediately sprung forth, releasing a continuous onslaught of punches and kicks. His armored foe had his wings folded up, taking on a compact and narrow stance. Pale shades of violet flickered side to side in a blur of afterimages of evasive maneuvers.

"Damn you! Hold still!" He growled. None of his attacks were landing. Each of them came close to hitting, yet they kept on missing by the breadth of a hair. "GAH!" Without warning, a sudden wall of force shoved him off the rooftop. The condensed form of air swatted him away as if he was just a fly.

A large shadow loomed over the speedster from above. The intruder leaped away as a massive cyborg arm smashed straight down into the surface of the flat rooftop, releasing a wave of tremor that vibrated throughout the structure. An expanding crater formed beneath the point of impact, forming root-like cracks and fissures until the entire surface caved in.

"Greetings, I shall be your next opponent!" Amatore Bezio watched the chaos unfold with an elated grin on his face. Destruction was such a beautiful scene. The two of them plummeted while standing on some falling platform of debris. The entire building was collapsing on top of itself. Simultaneously, the two of them propelled off of their foothold and dashed straight towards each other for a massive collision of raw power.

"METEOR SMASH!" The large brutish warrior roared.

The intruder coated his right hand with a concentrated coating of black which camouflaged with his already black hand.

 _Busoshoku: Koka!_

The two punches clashed against one another, releasing a shockwave that blew away the falling debris around them. Wavering heat and violet static electricity radiated out from the point of collision as the colossal forces neutralized one another.

"That Bezio guy is out of control!" Olimpo looked onward from a distance. "If those two keep fighting each other, the entire city block is going to be demolished."

"But still...," murmured the man with the oversized mallet, "I can't believe his opponent is holding his own against him. That Zoan-user is definitely not normal."

"...," While standing safely at a distance, the assassin gave a brief glance at his own hand that subtly shook after impact.

 _My haki isn't strong enough. The punch from his metallic arm hurts._

"How interesting; had it been anyone else, all of the bones in your arm should have been turned to powder."

 _He's pretty strong; I should eliminate him quickly before he becomes a threat._

In a blink of an eye, the winged combatant had seemingly teleported up close to the brutish cyborg. There was no sound of his footsteps or even the faintest whistle of air when he approached him. His movements were invisibly fast. He stood motionlessly like an empty shell of armory with no one inside.

A metal hand clenched, immediately swinging across the afterimage of the apprehension. Bezio felt two gentle fingers placed along the side of his head, touching directly onto his temples. His peripheral vision noticed a large shadow looming over him before a split second later when all the muscles in his face and upper body convulsed as dazzling lights of mystic violet flashed before his eyes. "AURRHHHHH! AURHHGHHH! AUGHHHH!"

Ghost-like steps carried the agile warrior to walk away from behind the man's back as the mighty pirate captain tipped forward like a falling corpse. "Guuuhhhh...," his front foot soon stomped the ground, reestablishing his balance. Wheezing and sweating like mad, his bloodshot eyes turned to look at his opponent whose back is turned to him. Crankily, he lunged forth like a barbarian, causing his right arm to rumble like the sound of an engine being turned on. His limb glowed hot red with statics sparkling out.

"I intended to fry your brain, but you're a lot tougher than I thought," the assassin said coldheartedly.

"METEOR..."

 _Razor Form..._

From fast to slow, the assassin gracefully pivoted away from behind the man's back with his arms and wings moving along with his waist, acting like the spinning blades of a high-speed blender.

"KUH!" Once again, Bezio lost sight of his opponent, but he had no doubt in his mind that the menace was standing at his blind-spot. His giant right metal arm spun in the air, dislocated from its shoulder socket, leaving him gushing out fluids. Several clean slash marks were carved deep into the flesh of his chest and abdomen, gradually soaking his attire in the expanding stains of blood. The enemy's elongated claws acted as blades; his hands, feet, and wings might as well be embellished with sharp daggers.

Thump!

The mechanical arm crashed into the rubbles, and at the same time, the one-armed man collapsed into a pool of crimson.

A symphony of frightened voices panicked throughout the vicinity. One of their mightiest fighters had been taken down right before their very eyes, and the main threat at hand had now revealed a deadly-looking form. A regular Zoan-user could enter just three primarily forms, yet it was as if this bat-human could access additional ones.

"Tsk... noisy pieces of trash," the assassin blitzed like a wind of death breezing by a crowd of lowlife riffraff. Even the edges his wings sliced like blades. Merciless slashes squelched into flesh and bones, leaving behind a bloody scene of half-dead bodies that cried and screamed in pain and agony. The fact that they remained alive made it all the more terrifying; it only meant that this monster wasn't even desperate enough to kill any of them despite being drastically outnumbered. Here, the monster walked in a den home to other monsters, yet he had proven to wield to power to slay them all.

This situation became quite dire and serious for the pirates. They were not up against someone who cared about arresting them or simply wanted to partake in a street fight. This man did not play games; he meant business. His no-nonsense approach and superior combative prowess only meant as a warning. Unless they took him seriously and use every resource in their arsenal, their entire forces may very well be wiped out by a single fighter.

 _I was born to be a killer. I have been genetically modified – a human weapon. This is what I was meant to do. Killing is all I have left. This is who I am. This is all I was taught. This world that has taken everything away from me, I will destroy it._

The sounds of frightened screams of screams echoed in the distance, approaching closer and closer with each passing second. A mob of warriors made a run for it, heading towards the direction of the Zoan-user who looked onward at the giant multi-headed beast that was chasing them.

A young scruffy man yelled from the sidelines before his feet slowly carried him away, "A Hydru!? Why is something like that doing here!?" The most dangerous creature on Athens Island was now rampaging on their turf. The seven-headed serpent was one of the three main types of creatures that roamed the labyrinth.

"Fufufu..., now then... we can eliminate the intruder by using our most formidable genetically modified specimen," a middle-aged skinny man stood at the peak of a tall building, watching the chaos unfold. With two fingers, he pressed the center of his glasses to secure it in place. There were many such monsters at their disposal, but if pirate captains were not enough, then sending any other beasts would have been a waste.

The ginormous black serpent slithered down the city with its body taking up nearly the entire width the street itself. Its seven heads were raised as high as the multistory buildings themselves; the sheer length of its body took up several dozens of meters. Each snake head acted on its own accord, opening its jaw wide to reveal its venomous fangs and forked tongue before biting down onto a pirate within their reach.

"It doesn't matter how much you damage the Hydru," the mad scientist chuckled sinisterly. "With the genetic trait of a starfish mixed in, it possesses high-speed regeneration. Blades, spears, claws, and fangs, none of that would work on it." If anyone thought that cutting off its head would kill it, then they would be dead wrong. Any head that gets sliced off would result in two more heads taking its place; it truly did mimicked the mythology of a the renown hydra.

The multi-headed serpent soon confronted the armored boy with the leathery black wings of a bat. In comparison, the Zoan-user was heavily dwarfed in terms of size.

"Regeneration, huh?" The assassin repeated what he overhead despite the scientist being several city blocks away. "Why don't you show me... your regeneration then?" Standing firm on the ground with the claws of his feet anchoring him in place, he crossed his arms before swiftly swiping his razor-sharp claws outwards, projecting two sets of five bladed arcs of air in the overall shape of an 'X'.

A split-second later, all seven heads were severed into multitude of pieces. Heavy chunks of bloody meat crashed into the ground, reducing the nightmarish beast into nothing more than an oversized carcass.

"...," the scientist lowered his jaw with his eyes popping out of their sockets, "W-W-W-WHAT!? HE KILLED IT IN JUST ONE HIT?" When all of the Hydru's heads gets chopped off, then the monster would be killed instantly. Even though he knew of that flaw, he didn't think they would be anyone capable of slicing all seven heads in one go. Such a feat would belong to a master swordsman, yet the adversary used nothing more than his claws.

"What are you fools standing around for?" Olimpo Scates barked at the massive crowd of minions. "He's only one person! We have tens of thousands on our side. Take him down!"

Immediately, an army of pirates roared as they charged straight at the Zoan-user with weapons of all kinds. Warriors of all classes converged towards a single point where the true monster stood waiting. However, the first few dozens of them couldn't even get close to him; a wall of compressed air was suddenly released from a mere flap of his wings, one strong enough to bulldoze them away and crash into other bodies.

The remaining fighters were still numerous as they courageously bolted straight for the winged devil from multiple sides. With several swift swipes, the assassin slashed across several bodies, constantly changing directions and pivoting to handle multiple adversaries at once. Even those who attacked him from behind were all slayed by the claws of his wings which swung back to attack. Blades clashed against his claws, ending up either deflected or broken into pieces. Blood splattered across the scene as bodies fell several at a time. The intruder could effortlessly handle several them at once with each limb handling a different opponent.

CRACK!

Joints were snapped.

SPRAY!

Arteries were sliced open, causing jets of blood to gush out. He could see the blood coursing within their veins; he could sense the subtle difference in heat to detect major blood vessels for him to cut with his bladed claws.

Every motion he made wasn't wasted. One attack would have its momentum be carried on to the next attack, flowing from one to another. His entire body functioned as a single entity, yet they could attack at multiple directions at once –mostly due to his deadly wings as an additional set of limbs at his control. The precision and accuracy of his strikes were impeccable, aiming straight for the joints, pressure points, major blood vessels, or vital organs. His fighting style combined martial arts, assassination, and animalistic physiology into a single, concise package. He needed not wield any weapon for his forged, powerful body was already a lethal weapon. Even as hundreds were slain, he did not slow down or show any signs of fatigue. He kept moving with each motion seemingly to equate to at least one slain enemy.

More and more pirates began to hesitate; some even retreated. They began to realize how hopeless it was to take on this killing machine. This enemy showed no hesitation to take their lives. As the encircling fighters began sparser, several silhouettes dropped down from above. The longlimb human, the Skypian, the man with a giant iron mallet, a swordswoman with a katana, and an armored knight with a saber and shield, five pirate captains joined forces to attack in unison.

"Hail Barrage!" The longlimb bombarded forth a fury of blinding-fast punches.

"IRON CRUSH!" the giant iron mallet swung down.

"Impact Dial!" The Skypian outstretched a peach-colored shell on his palm.

"Wind Shuriken!" the swordswoman unleashed a spinning four-bladed air projectile.

"Gale Slash" The knight swung forth her double-edged sword, releasing an air slash.

 _So, they've finally stopped underestimating me. Very well... I shall return the favor then._

The assassin blurred with a sudden rotational motion. He pivoted on one leg with his slanted wings splayed outwards. "Coiling Dragon," he whispered as rising whirlwind was summoned by the sheer raw power of his rotating wings like the spinning blades of an electric fan. The twister quickly engulfed all five pirate captains along with countless of minor-ranked pirates into a violent grey storm of debris with countless of loose slashes sprinkled throughout the assault. As a myriad of bodies spun within the giant vortex, fleshes were cut, weaponry and armor were either broken were shattered. Tiles of rooftops were ripped out and sucked into the monstrous phenomenon.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? A TORNADO!?" yelled an unfortunate pirate.

Screams were muffled by the rushing winds that blew them around in circles, carrying them further and further upwards. The Coiling Dragon was one of Pluto's strongest techniques, yet its greatest potential of use was when being surrounded from large numbers of nearby foes.

Thirty seconds later, the whirlwind dwindled in strength and dispersed into a breeze. Countless bodies rained down from great heights, crashing into the ground while covered in blood and slash marks. Most of them were unconscious; only the pirate captains managed to barely cling onto their consciousness. All their attacks had been completely washed away by an even superior force.

The assassin was nowhere to be seen.

"Haah... Haah... Haah...," Within an empty room, the intruder wheezed and panted, reduced to being on his hands and knees. The spike of energy from before was completely used up; his stamina was left drained. A while ago, he managed to pinpoint this room, knowing full well that it was deprived of other souls due to his excellent hearing and making it an ideal spot for him to rest and rejuvenate some of his strength. He used his last attack as a cover for his own escape. With an attack of that magnitude, he foresaw himself being exhausted. Fighting any longer without any breaks would have been unwise; he had to pace himself.

All of this was merely a simulation to him. The marine lieutenant, Himeko, he knew nothing about her. He didn't give a damn about the abstract word known as 'justice'; such an overused word had lost meaning to him a long time ago. However, when he learnt of her disappearance, he began tracking her down in secret; that was how he ended up here in the first place. He had no idea that there would be so many pirates here. There must have been dozens of pirate crews concentrated in this underground fortress.

He didn't care about that marine girl; yet knowing that she had been captured triggered a deeply rooted rage within him. He pretended the pirates were his enemies and pretended that Himeko was his sister. All of this was just a simulation.

About a year had passed since he was 'killed' by the CP9 agent, Rob Lucci. Throughout that year, his heart screamed silently in a void. The one person he came closest to care for, to love for, to die for, Rebecca was gone. Despite having witnessed countless of deaths in his life, despite how numbed his heart has become, her death brought him the greatest pain in his life. Every day, he wished that it was all just a lie – that she would come back to him by some miracle. He missed her – the girl who was his last remaining family left, the one who would hug him, cling to him, and make him feel human. Her body was nowhere to be found.

He tortured himself daily. Ravenous for power, lusting for strength, he had fought and fought and fought against a myriad of foes across Paradise of the Grand Line. He wanted the strength to protect his now imaginary little sister from that time. If he fought him again, could he win? If he had the strength back then that he has now, could he have protected her?

No. He was still too weak.

His hand clenched the left side of his chest, feeling his heart beating – the same heart that Rob Lucci thought he had pierced with his finger pistol technique. At the very last moment before being pierced, the boy had shifted his own heart to the right side of his chest, evading a fatal strike. The ability to shift his own internal organs, a difficult technique used as a last resort to evade what would otherwise be lethal. Although he had taught Koneko Miu his martial arts, this was one of the skills that could not be easily attained; in addition, the very nature of his body was fundamentally different than a normal human.

All he could smell was the blood from countless of slain men. His hands were coated in dark crimson. He could hear the chaos outside, the panicking voices, and the manhunt they've sent out in groups. He closed his eyes softly and pictured the face of one particular person in his mind, and soon, his stirred emotions became energy. Pushing himself off the floor, he stood upright. His breath became stable; his violet-hued eyes reopened with a new spark of murderous vitality.

From one voice to the next, he explored and visited several streams of conversation that flowed into his pivoting ears. It was only a matter of time before he found some sort of lead.

...

Scented red candlesticks lined up along the perimeter of the room, standing on desks and small platforms attached to the walls. They gave off a spicy, herbal aroma in the air, and they were the only source of light in dim vacant room where the floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same grey stone.

A young woman remained shackled at the center of the room. Her body was left limp like a withered flower, having very little life left. Her wrists were locked in manacles with a single chain linking her constraints to the ceiling, leading her arms to be fully raised over her head.

"Oooo~! I just love seeing you weaken little by little," the redhead pirate held up a syringe in her hand with a clear fluid filled up inside. Her lips trembled with excitement. Just how much longer would this marine girl last? What would happen if she injects this drug into her? Would she die? Or will she suffer a bit longer? She had been waiting for so long just so this girl could recover a bit of strength, and then she could drain it out of her all over again.

She took a moment to appreciate the helpless scene of the youth who had been kept captive in here throughout the whole day. The girl's long, brown hair was let down with a few strands out of order. Her pale peach-colored robe was ragged, torn, and cut up. Her sleeves were ripped off.

"Now then...," she licked her lips. "Let's see how you'll handle this one," the sadistic woman swung her hand, ready to stab the girl in her bare arm. Her swift movement was then stopped shortly as a hand clutched her wrist.

CRACK!

A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the chamber. The redhead pirate felt the bone of her wrist snap in pain by the vice-like grip of the intruder that hid within her shadow. She didn't even sense him enter the room. Admittedly, she tended to be zoned out when torturing others, but it was difficult to believe that she didn't pick up a single footstep down the stairwell. This was supposed to be her personal private chamber; no one was supposed to be allowed in here, not even her own subordinates.

A sinister, cold voice spoke to her, "I take it that you're Toxic Rose, Aileen Cotton."

"Who the hell are you!?" She hissed viciously while tending to her broken joint. The syringe that she held in her grasp had been disarmed. A lithe armored man with leathery bat wings stood before her with a hood shadowing his true face. His inhuman appearance took her aback. Without any hesitation, the intruder swiftly stabbed the woman at the side of her arm, pressing with his thumb to squeeze every last drop of the substance into her.

"My name is Pluto," he responded. Once all the fluid was visibly emptied out, he pulled out the needle just as swiftly as when it pierced into her bloodstream.

"W-What... have you done!?" Aileen staggered back before falling onto her buttocks. Never had she ever dreamt of her own drugs being used against her.

"You tell me because I don't have the faintest idea what I just injected into you," he said nonchalantly and tossed the empty syringe aside.

The redhead gaped in shock. She felt the immediate effects of her body feeling exponentially more sensitive than before. Her limbs were sluggish to respond, slowly losing their ability to listen to her commands. She clenched her teeth, staring furiously at the demonic being, "Pluto...? I'll remember you..., you will pay dearly for this..."

With a quick extension of his wings, the Zoan-user released a gust of wind out to the side, blowing away every flicker of light that the candles had to offer and leaving the room engulfed in pure darkness. He clenched the neck of the pirate woman, suffocating her with his grip, digging his claws into her skin until blood trickled down. "I hear you like torturing others. As an assassin, I'm supposed to kill as quickly as possible. But I understand the thrill of torturing. I feel the same way, the satisfaction of watching those you hate scream in pain and agony. And, I hate you. I hate everyone. I want to torture you and every disgusting piece of trash on this planet."

Claws slashes through the air, aimed to slice through the shackles that constrained the person of interest.

WHOOSH!

Chains clanged onto the cold hard floor. He carried the slender girl into his arms and left the room. He didn't need to feel her pulse to know that she was still alive; he could already hear her breath.

After walking up the stairs and leaving the building, he was immediately greeted by gunshots from several rifles pointed straight at him. Several rounds were fired, yet he continued to stride onward. Both of his thick iron-hard wings overlapped in front of him, shielding him from the bullets while leaving his arms free to carry the marine girl. This special modified form of his was inspired by the technique known as Tekkai. The wings of a bat contained a network of muscles; all he had to do was enhance and tense them up. This wasn't the first time he used it since his time in this underground city. The tradeoff was losing his ability to fly if he remained in this form.

"Damn it! Bullets don't work on him?" cursed the sniper from afar.

"Stay back! You monster!" A pirate desperately pulled the trigger repeatedly despite having run out of ammunition.

Silently, their target vanished without a trace. The Zoan-user used a technique known as Shadow Step, allowing him to relocate himself with silent speed. He hid from shadow to shadow between buildings; and eventually, he reached the exit – the same as the entrance he used to arrive here. Pirates, who have spotted him leave, no longer dared to attack him; they should consider it a blessing for that monster to finally leave them alone. Much of their forces had already been wiped out. If losing that marine officer was all it took to get rid of him, then that was a trade that would happily make now that they learned what kind of demon they had been up against. It wasn't even a close battle. Their most elite pirate captains were all defeated.

None of them knew what was to come. Was their reputation now tarnished? That invader seemed to be neither a marine nor a pirate. The methods taken to rescue a marine officer did not resemble that of the navy that they were familiar with. They did not know who he was or what connection he had with the marine girl. Even more mysterious was the fact that such a strong and powerful fighter remained unknown to them all. They had never heard of any rumors in regards to a Zoan-user who was practically a one-man-army; whoever this monster was must have had laid dormant for quite a long time for there was no pirate or marine that they know of who even mildly resembled his way of fighting.


	14. Kitty Beatdown

Sitting crisscrossed on the rooftop at the tallest building on the island, Pluto held his eyes closed and fingers interlocked with the tips of his thumbs forming a ring at the center. His arms rested on his legs; his spine upright and straightened. Slowly and gradually, he breathed with his nose. Meditating, he was cultivating his mental sharpness and tamed his bloodlust. This practice of calmness and stillness was what allowed him to home in on a dormant sense that everyone had. This special sense was known as Haki. Of the two main types of Haki, his specialty was Kenbunshoku Haki, the ability to sense the presence of others and predict their very next move.

In the cool night air, a cutesy, energetic chirp called out to him just a few meters to his flank, "Master! I miss you!"

"!" His eyes darted towards to the side, catching sight of a grey-furred kitten which innocently stared right back him with those large gleaming yellow eyes. For a moment, he was dumbfounded.

 _The cat talked… Wait… how did I not sense her?_

A mild purr emanated from the feline who soon crawled closer towards the black-haired boy wearing a camouflaging cloak. Affectionately, she rubbed her soft, furry cheeks against his leg.

"Miu!" He identified her, the one who possessed that strange power to transform into a two-tailed flaming cat as well as a regular-sized kitten. It was as if she possessed more than one animal form. Till this day, he never quite understood how her abilities worked as they strayed far from the norm.

"Yay! You remembered me!" The kitten raised her head up in delight. "Master! I, the strongest kitty in the world, am on a mission to escort you to join the Revolutionary Army! Together, we shall overthrow the World Government and the rule the world with an iron paw!"

"Huh?" Pluto blinked at her ludicrous comments. He raised a single index finger, "First, you joined the Revolutionary Army?" He then raised a second finger. "And, also, I don't think you've quite grasped on what the revolutionaries' goals are."

The kitten stood on her hind legs and shrugged with her forepaws, "They fed me delicious fish, so I joined them." In exchange for lending them her powers, she agreed only on the terms of receiving lots of fish – a plentiful currency on a world predominately covered by ocean waters.

"Y-You joined them because they gave you fish?" He repeated the implication of her words.

"Join us, master! That Dragon person has shown interest in you! I also have interest in you because you're so strong. And there's also another person who's shown interest in you. Oh, and there's also one other person who is just desperate to see you."

"I have no intention of joining a criminal organization led by the most wanted man in the world," he replied with a firm tone.

"But Master, you were targeted by the Cipher Pol. If they ever find out that you're still alive, you'll be in big trouble if you're all by yourself. We can protect you because they're our enemies!"

"Hm?" Pluto narrowed his eyes. "How did you know that I was targeted by them? How did you know that I faked my death?"

Miu turned her head away, whistling a short tune, "Not telling… until you join."

"Tch," he gritted his teeth, "I'm not joining!"

"Yes you will! Everything you ever wanted lies in joining us! Trust me; I'm a cat."

"Miu… just how long have you been in this cat form? Have you already forgotten that you're actually a human?"

"Master, in all seriousness, please join us," the kitten stated in a pleading tone.

"I refuse," the boy stood up and glanced down at the little creature by his feet. "I work alone. And, I don't trust anyone but myself."

"I see," the kitten lowered her head, contemplating on her next move. "In that case, I'll just have to take you by force." Her tone intensified, declaring war against the boy.

"Hah?" He furrowed his brows. "You couldn't land a single blow on me in our sparring, and you think you can just take me by force?"

"Of course," a sweet and gentle voice sounded out, completely different than Miu's original voice. Before the boy's very eyes, a black-haired girl with violet eyes stood there with a warm smile.

 _R-Rebecca!? What!?_

Pluto froze stiff at the sight of his own little sister standing in front of him. His heartbeat changed. His hands quivered. His mind in disbelief.

But in that moment of inevitable hesitation, the little girl made her first move, abruptly interjecting the sentimental boy with a sharp elbow strike to the core.

"Ugh!" The brother coughed out a breath of air as his torso collapsed by a penetrating force.

 _W-What? Since when was Rebecca this strong? This can't be her._

The very sight of Rebecca had completely rendered the boy unable to fend for himself. His eyes watched at the little girl shift her weight to swing out a kick – and a skillfully executed one at that. The movement was almost identical to how he would kick.

A streak of black zipped through the air, crashing into the building which stood opposite across the street below. This sheer power and weight. There was no way that a little girl could generate this much force. It can't be her. That Rebecca lookalike must be a fake. This could only be explained by Miu's Devil Fruit power for only she could unleash such a powerful blow by tapping into her supernatural powers.

On a six-floor tall building, Pluto had crashed through the window on the third floor, lying flat on his back. He slowly clambered himself back up, groaning in pain. Something didn't seem to add up. Was this all just a dream? Just a moment ago, he was conversing with a talking cat, but in a split second, all he saw was his little sister. The cat was nowhere to be seen. And that fake sister carried the same exact voice as her the genuine one while carrying the strength and skill to kick him into another building. Given what he had just witnessed, he struggled to make sense of all of this.

A very floor he stood on shook at the landing of the black-haired girl who held the same eyes as him. The one who appeared to be Rebecca suddenly grew out a pair of cat ears on top of her head and a pair of long black tails out from her lower back. "Sorry, master," she apologized. "I'm not your sister. I know it's cruel to do this to you, but your sister is alive."

"What?" Pluto clenched his fist, utterly disoriented by what was just said to him. His sister was alive? How?

The tips of Miu's tails emitted a pair of small blue candle-like flames; they soon touched the floor. Two streaks of blue fire ran across the room, encircling around the boy and forming a complete loop that encased the two of them inside. In an instant, the mystical blue fire rose upwards, roaring ferociously and functioning as a wall of flames that sealed them inside. "Fire Ring," the cat-girl uttered the name of her technique.

The boy scanned his surroundings, confirming that he was indeed trapped from all angles. Being indoors, the ceiling and the floor only further caged him inside. This calculative planning certainly seemed like something Miu would scheme up.

"Have sparred with you many times, I know full well of your incredible speed," the cat-girl who resembled Rebecca remarked her recollection of his agility and evasive maneuvers. "Therefore, I'll just have to limit your space and trap you."

"I see. You plan to overcome my speed by confining me in an enclosed space, limiting my freedom of movement. A smart move. But, as clever as are, you are limited by what you know about me. Did you think that you were the only Devil Fruit user?"

"Huh?" Miu narrowed her eyes as a sign of caution. "Master… are you saying that you also have the power of a devil?"

"See for yourself," he said in cold manner before sprouting a pair of dark leathery wings reminiscent of a bat. With a single flap form both appendages, he generated a powerful gust of wind that knocked his feline adversary out of the building.

Flipping in midair, the cat-girl landed on all four on the paved street. Her eyes gazed skyward as the winged foe dove down. "So Master is a Zoan-type just like me," she noted before raising a palm upwards. "But, you have activated my next trap. Meteor Shower!"

As his attention was towards the girl down below, Pluto noted something strange about the lighting and shadows. There was a tint of blue casted everywhere. He paused his flight, shifting his glance towards the giant ball of flames hovering several dozens of meters over his head. From that giant source of fire, miniature spherical flames began to rain down within a large conical scope, each one the size of a basketball.

 _What the-? Her ability to control her flames has gotten much better. But above all else, how did she manage prepare this fireball in advance? An attack from above right outside the building I got thrown in. It's as if she knew I had the power of flight. Either that or I'm just unlucky because she's limiting my freedom to fly._

Right before Miu stepped foot inside the building, she had already prepared this giant ball of fire in anticipation of being pushed right back outside. "Meteor Shower!" She had the power to create fireballs, so one day, she decided to create a big fireball that scatters smaller fireballs. With the scope of her assault spanning across a large area, her speedy little foe had nowhere to escape. Shooting a few projectiles at Pluto was a complete waste of time. Against someone as evasive as him, an attack with a large area of effect ought to work, and as her adversary attempts to evade each one of those spherical flames, she can freely strike him from below. At least, that was what she thought would happen.

 _Coiling Serpent!_

The instant the boy landed on the paved ground, he quickly pivoted on his leading foot, rapidly rotating his fully extended wings that have been slanted like the blades of a spinning fan. The insurmountable energy that he generated had whipped up a massive vortex of wind that complete enveloped him entirely. The rising whirlwind sucked up all the falling flames straight into the funnel. A gradient mix of blue and grey spun violently before Miu's astonished eyes as she desperately clung onto the ground, anchoring herself from being dragged into the chaos.

She couldn't believe how powerful he was. However, such a big move must also be rather taxing on such a small body. All it accomplished was nullifying her flames. As the rampaging wind began to dwindle down, the girl stood upright with excitement in her eyes, "You're amazing, master! But, how will handle this?" She then outstretched both hands towards the boy.

Pluto quickly darted his eyes above him, noting a few stranded blue orbs hovering over him. But something was wrong. These flames were different than before. Not only did they somehow survived whirlwind that extinguished all the other flames, they emitted no sound whatsoever. Even with the ears of a bat, he couldn't hear a single sound from these orbs. On top of that, these flames were completely immune to his echolocation; ultrasound passed through these flames without any disturbance whatsoever.

 _What did she just do? Does she have the power to cast illusions now?_

With a downward flick of her hands, Miu commanded the orbs of fire to rain down on the boy. In that instant, the fire could suddenly be audible to the boy's ears and registerable to his radar. It came as no surprise to her that the winged combatant could swiftly evade the projectiles, but that challenge came afterwards.

"!" Pluto widened his eyes as the fireballs suddenly slipped through the ground as opposed to dispersing, and before he knew it, those same fireballs slipped out of the ground near his feet, flying upwards towards him. Contorting his body in a flexible way, he maneuvered away, feeling the scorching trail of air brushing past his face, but those orbs continued to hunt him down.

"He-He…," Miu smirked playfully. "This is the power of the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Bakeneko. My flames are no ordinary flames. I call it Ghost Fire. The flames I generate has the trait of being able to slip through physical obstacles whenever I wish."

 _Ghost Fire? I see. So that's why I can't always detect these fireballs. So even if I were to hide inside one of these buildings, her attack would simply phase through the walls to target me. What an annoying ability to go up against._

"Blue Cloak," the Mythical-Zoan user emitted a thin layer of fire that enveloped her entire body. "Tail Torch!" Her tail forked into two; the flames extended past the tip, flaring out like a pair of blowtorches. And, as she swung her tails towards the front, the protruding flames whipped through the air, elongating and meandering towards the boy.

Pluto, who's evading the pesky little orbs of fire, soon took flight as a pair of serpent-shaped flames pincered him from his flanks.

 _Short-range, mid-range, long-range. She can attack at any distance. She can use her flames both defensively and offensively. And the ghost ability of her fire makes it difficult to block or hide. So, this is the power of a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit._

"Quit messing me," he snarled. Hovering in the air with his wings splayed out, the boy sharpened his glare.

"Mm?" Miu softened her expression, sensing an inking of rage from the boy who suddenly bolted in front of her eyes. She gasped in disbelief, unprepared by his sheer speed. Just a half-step was all the momentum he needed to generate a ferocious punch, one strong enough to generate a projected shockwave.

 _Cannon Fist!_

She felt a heavy force crushing her torso. Her small body hurled back and crashed through the brick wall of a building. Clambering on the floor, she struggled to push herself back up, but a pair of boots in front of her suggested that her adversary was already standing inches before her.

A cold, murderous pair of eyes glared down at her sternly, gleaming violet hues filled with hatred. "Quit it," he murmured. "QUIT LOOKING LIKE THAT! STOP LOOKING LIKE MY SISTER!" He shouted before kicking the fallen girl across the room. In a single lunge, he crossed the entire distance and gripped the girl by the neck and suspended her off the ground.

Miu was forced to shapeshift back into her true form, a girl with brown hair and golden eyes. Her hands desperately tried to remove the suffocating grip around her throat. But just as she was starting to gain the upper hand in raw primal strength, a sudden jolt of electricity was discharged straight into her, causing her limbs to spasm uncontrollably. The grip around her neck kept her screams to sound like faint gargling cries.

"You said Rebecca was still alive," the assassin said reflectively. "If you were lying, I'll kill you. And if you were telling the truth, then tell me where she is. If you refuse, I'll break every joint in your body, tear all your limbs ligament by ligament."

The girl suddenly erupted in an explosive growth, expanding into a giant four-legged, two-tailed, flaming cat monster. In order to escape from the boy's vice-like grip, she morphed into her animal form which towered over the small boy. The imposing beast growled as she stomped down her forepaw to crush the boy.

 _Shield Form._

A pair of steel-hard wings overlapped themselves over his head, shielding him from the several thousand pounds of weight behind the smothering force. His wings flickered out, flinging the giant feline to crash through the crumbling wall.

Miu morphed back into her hybrid form, panting for air. "M-Master…," she was called out to him fearfully. Never had she seen him like this before.

 _Razor Form._

The claws of his hands and feet elongated like thin blades. The skeletal structure of his wings stretched past the membrane, appearing like spikes. A form that Miu had never laid eyes on before. The boy truly looked like an evil killing machine. His hands, feet, and wings were all designed to kill.

"Master… I'm sorry," she apologized while taking several steps back, holding her palms out as if surrendering. "Your sister is alive. On the day the Cipher Pol targeted you, I shapeshifted into Rebecca in order to protect her. If you join the revolutionaries, you can see her again."

Shapeshifting. Was that another one of her powers? That explained her ability to morph into seemingly any cat and her ability to take on Rebecca's appearance. It made sense. Yet, despite hearing her explanation, the rage bottled up inside him didn't ease up at all. So, what if Rebecca was still alive? He had already accepted her death. He had already erased his attachments to her. Having not seen her for so long, as time passed by, he thought of her less and less.

He already had stopped loving her. How else was he supposed to handle the pain of her loss? The more he loved her, the more painful the thought of losing her became. So, he arrived at the solution of erasing his attachment of her altogether.

"I do not want to see her again," he said heartlessly.

"What?" Miu exclaimed in shock.

"I've broken my promise to protect her. I've allowed her to die. I loved her so much that after believing she died, I wanted to kill myself. But then, I thought to myself: before I die, I'll kill the bad people as well."

"But she didn't die," Miu furrowed her brows. "She misses you."

"Look at what I have become," he opened his arms out, showing his dangerous-looking form. "Does this looks like someone who can be a protective, loving brother? I'm broken. I don't want to hurt myself anymore. It sounds like Rebecca is already protected by the revolutionaries. She doesn't need me to protect her anymore."

"I won't let you betray her," Miu clenched her teeth. "All she ever talks about is you. She loves me more than anyone."

"Hah!" He scoffed. "Betrayal? Her brother is a mass murderer with no ethics or morals built into him. But she doesn't know that. Her love is misplaced. Once she finds out what kind of person I am, then she'll truly feel betrayed. I've killed so many people that I don't feel anything anymore. I can't bring myself to value human lives anymore. Killing is all I was taught to do."

"Rebecca is my friend," the cat-girl clenched her fists. "I don't care what you think. You're going to see her again!"


	15. The Revolutionary Army

He let out a groan as every cell in his body ached in pain, the type one would feel when beaten to a bloodied pulp where his vessel just felt like one big collective bruise. His mind felt dull and sluggish, slowly attempting to recall the most recent occurring event before his consciousness faded. Memories of scorching blue flames taking all kinds of forms, chasing him down as if they had a mind of their own. A two-tailed cat had attacked him. He remembered having the upper hand, yet towards the end, every ounce of energy in his body suddenly dissipated without warning. The sensation felt like something was draining him. In fact, he still felt that same sensation right now, originating from his left wrist.

"Ugh… where am I?" He slowly rose from a white mattress, finding himself in a small wooden room. The subtle rocking indicated that he was being transported within a ship. By just who were his captors and where were they taking him?

 **Grand Line: Baltigo – The Revolutionary Army's General Headquarters**

Daytime, several long clouds hovered in the cerulean sky above. Dragon's ship had returned. It was a large wooden vessel with a sinuous, serpent body along the flanks, converging at the back and the front to form an upright tail and a mystical head with red eyes. The vessel had four white sails, and on the peak on each of the four masts was a small red triangular flag, representing the Revolutionary Army.

A vacant rocky island presented itself. The land was mostly flat with whitish-grey coloration, made up of entirely the same rock-based material, including the sculpted structures that resembled almost like ancient ruins, camouflaging in their surroundings.

A diverse set of members stood around by the shores, all of them watching the return of their leader. As various crewmates descended the ship, the completely new, unfamiliar face appeared as well, taking on the form of a young boy with short black hair and distinctive violet pupils.

While no one had shown any hostility to him, Pluto didn't feel particularly welcomed either. In fact, he felt like a prisoner, having to wear a special bracelet around his left wrist made of a special material known as Kairōseki. All Devil Fruit users had the universal weakness of being submerged into the seas, and this material carried the same wavelength as the ocean. In other words, this bracelet sealed his powers. Not only could he no longer transform, he was in a constant weakened state. It felt like his energy had been drained, and his strength had depleted.

This was his first time coming into physical contact with Kairōseki, and it was a rather unpleasant experience. The concentration of this material directly affected the intensity of him being weakened. For him to still be able to walk entailed that this bracelet was more diluted than what it could have been; otherwise, he would be completely debilitated.

The purpose of sealing his powers was rather intuitive. He theorized three reasons. First, he was brand new and could not be trusted, especially when he had vocally expressed his refusal to join the revolutionaries to begin with. Second, this was their secret hideout. With his Devil Fruit abilities, escape would be rather easy for someone who can fly off like a bird and allowing anyone to escape while knowing the location of their hideout posed a great risk to the revolutionaries. And lastly, even if he didn't choose to escape, his bat ears could allow him to eavesdrop secretive and vital information from important meetings of the higher ups. As valuable as the boy was, his skills as a spy made him very dangerous. For the time being, they were interested in the secret that the boy already knows from his past experiences.

 _This is by far the most monotonous island I have ever seen._

No roads, plants, or animals, everything was literally made of rocks. Oddly enough, there were quite a bit of human children being disciplined outside by a fishman. He had always wondered how the revolutionaries gathered their members without worrying about traitors; at least partly, they seemed to recruit children at a young age and train them to become useful. In a certain sense, he would fall under that category as well.

Unlike those lingering on the vessel which brought him here, the people on the island didn't wear those mysterious cloaks that hid their faces with hoods. Everyone here wore whatever they wanted, following no special attires or dress code. This all made sense considering this was practically their home.

Unlike the appearance from the outside, the interior walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of planks of wood. There were bunk beds for two people with a wooden ladder for one to climb up to the bed on top. There were desks, chairs, and drawers in the room as well. There was a stack of book sitting on one of the desks, likely belonging to whoever else lived here.

 _How did I… end up here?_

Having lived his life primarily lurking in the shadows and hiding his appearance, he rarely interacted with people in general. He had always avoided crowds, living independently whenever possible. There were too many people here. He just wanted to be left alone.

Everyone he knew closely was dead. He had long since abandoned the thought of having friends. Anyone who tried to be his friend would only end up killed one way or another. He had committed too many sins. It was best to isolate himself from everyone else, so that he wouldn't accidentally drag the innocent to their demise. This was his curse.

The door opened, and a little girl with long, glossy brown hair stepped inside. Her large, curious brown eyes spotted a soulless, gloomy boy sitting crisscrossed on the edge of the bottom bed. A small smile blossomed on her lips as she strode towards him with a beat in her steps.

"Hello! My name is Chika. What's your name?" She introduced herself in a bubbly, friendly manner.

Despite the girl being a meter away, Pluto was completely out of it. His energy was sapped out by the bracelet on his wrist. He had no way to escape anymore, effectively a prisoner here. His lifeless eyes drifted off and dazed at a random spot on the ground with his head hung low.

 _What am I… doing with my life…?_

"Hmm…," the girl frowned ephemerally before taking notice the bracelet around his left wrist. "Isn't that Kairōseki? I see." She nodded to herself. "Then! How about we play a game? If I lose, I'll leave you alone for today."

Almost immediately, the boy lifted his head up, taking notice of her existence. The idea of being left alone did pique his interest, enough for his eyes to shift at her direction. He hated greetings.

Chika smiled whimsically, "But… if I win, you have to tell me your name."

The cost of losing was affordable, but he'd rather not tell her his name if possible. The fewer people that knew about him, the better. "What's the game?" He asked.

"Ah! You spoke! Yay!" She said exuberantly.

"Tch…," he tensed his brows, annoyed at seeing her triumphant face for getting him to talk.

The girl then stated the rule of the game, "If I can guess what type your Devil Fruit power is, then I win. If I guess it wrong, then I lose." It was as simple as that.

 _Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia, those were the three types of Devil Fruit powers. If it's just a blind guess, she has a 33% chance of guessing it correctly. However, the Logia-type is the rarest of the three, and the Paramecia-type is the most common of the three. Assuming she knows this, her best shot would be to guess the Paramecia-type._

"Okay, I accept," he agreed. This simple game placed him at an advantage, and he didn't have to do anything active on his part.

"Yay! Then… let's see here…," the brunette leaned forward and scrutinized the boy in his entirety, scanning him up and down as if she was searching for any hints or clues.

The boy in the grey cloak looked off into the distance while waiting for her response. An arduous amount of time passed, leaving him awkwardly avoiding eye contact as he was being stared at the entire time. "H-Have you decided yet…?" Being stared at was more uncomfortable than he'd imagined.

"Hmm…, I have my answer. You're a Zoan-type," she said without hesitance.

His body froze stiff.

"Well? Did I get it right?" She asked eagerly.

"… Y-Yeah…," the boy glanced off in the other direction, not too thrilled at her lucky guess.

"Then, I win. Now, you have to tell me your name," she smiled.

"Pluto," he gave the shortest answer possible.

"Ooo~ Pluto, is it? That's an interesting name."

 _Darn…, I haven't gotten rid of her._

"Then, let's play another game. If I can guess what animal you can turn into, you'll have to do anything I say. What would you like to happen if I lose?"

"Huh?" He gazed at her with a perplexed expression. What she just proposed was a near impossible task for her. Even though she narrowed down to which type his power was, there were countless of possibilities; she had no way of winning this. "If you lose, then you have to leave me alone." He didn't have any grand ambitions; there wasn't much a mere girl could do for him anyways.

"Alright, deal! Then, the animal that you can turn into is…," she paused, creating a suspenseful silence. "… a bat!"

"EH!?" He gaped as all his expectations of her impending loss shattered into a million pieces. The girl answered rather quickly this time around too as if she knew the answer the whole time.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" She burst out laughing at the shock on his face. "Did I get it right?"

 _Someone must have told her about my power, but who? Most who knew about my power ended up killed. Miu only found out about my power recently, there was no way for her to inform this girl who had been on this island._

"Y-You…," he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You knew about my powers from the start, didn't you?"

"Hmm…, did I?" She tilted her head and gazed upwards, clearly playing dumb.

"Tsk… great…, does everyone know about my powers then?" Most likely there must be a rumor spreading among the members of the revolutionaries. This girl probably picked up the rumor and decided to use it against him.

Chika shook her head, "Actually, no one told me anything about you."

That had to be a lie. "Then, how could you know?" He looked at her accusingly.

She gave a soft smile, "It's a secret."

The boy was clearly irked by her playful denial. For someone who was known to be a sponge of secrets, he didn't expect for a little girl to hold a secret that's presumably connected to him. To make matters worse, he wanted to know this secret of hers, but he didn't want to fall for any more of her traps.

"So! Are you joining the Revolutionary Army?" She asked with alacrity to welcome a new member.

"No way! I never said I'll join," he expressed openly.

"Eeeh? Why not?" She looked saddened.

"For starters, I'm practically a prisoner at this point," he raised up his left wrist which was cuffed by the grey bracelet. "I don't like working with others, and I don't like being used like a tool either."

"Hmm…, then what do you plan to do?" It didn't seem like there was much alternative for the boy's future. The newcomer was already at the main headquarter, and he had practically no chance of escape while his powers remained sealed.

"Simple. I'll just find a way to remove this cuff whether through finding a key or through lockpicking. Then, I'm out of here," he explained his intent on escaping. The key part to a successful escape was the removal of this bracelet. Once he obtained his powers back, he'd have a rather good chance of escaping from this place through flight.

"I see," she nodded sagaciously. "Then, I've decided what I'll make you do."

"Huh?" He blinked upon her statement.

"You lost, remember? You must do one thing that I say. You'll keep your promise, won't you?" she spoke in a sweet tone, ending with a smile.

"… Tch…, yeah…," he reluctantly replied. His heart sunk, knowing that he had broken a special promise in the past. He didn't want to break any more promises.

"Then, your punishment is: you must join the Revolutionary Army."

"EH!?" He shot a glance of disbelief at her. Was she just trying to go against everything he desired?

 _S-Seriously? I thought she'd request something childish from me, but…_

"Now, I'll get to see you every day!" She clasped her palms together, concluding that the boy would be around forever now that he was forced to join them.

"That's why!?" He exclaimed with an irritated look.

"Yup!"

 _D-Damn you!_


	16. Clingy Little Sister

A soothing warmth flooded into him. A weight pressed down against his body, pinning him against the mattress. As he his limbs tried to reposition themselves into a more comfortable position, he found them immobilized. His consciousness began to rise, and the first thing he noticed was someone's breath, gentle and subtle, light warm air grazing against his neck. Slowly, his eyes opened lethargically before widening to find a dark-haired girl sound asleep on top of him.

This girl was Rebecca, his little sister.

A blue blanket wrapped around them both tautly like a cocoon. But, as he tried to slip his hands free, he felt his wrists being tied up by ropes, bounded on top of the girl's back, forcing his arms in a position to hug her. As he slowly tried to shift his torso, he felt another restraint that bounded his waist against her waist.

 _W-Why am I tied up!?_

Suddenly, a small creature leapt onto the bed from the side, slowly crawling towards the head of the frame. A white-furred kitten with large blue irises approached him until her forepaws were right by his pillow. "Master! You're awake!" She greeted him energetically.

"Miu!? What's going on here?" the boy raised his complaint. "Why am I tied up like this? Is this your doing?"

"Nah… why would I ever do that?" she said somewhat sarcastically, standing on her hindlegs as she shrugged with her little arms. "When you were asleep, Rebecca eagerly snuck in here and tied herself onto you. She said she never wanted to be separated from you again, so now, she's stuck to you."

The brother rolled to the side, easing the weight off him as he gave a soft look at the girl sleeping soundly with her arms wrapped around him. It really was her, the genuine one. With Miu being here, this girl, who's tied to him, could only be the real one and not one of the prankster's shapeshifted forms. He hadn't seen her for so long. He hadn't held her for so long. This entire time, she was safe and sound in this place, waiting for his return.

But still, he would like to be able to move. He squirmed and resisted against these confinements, only to hear the kitten snickering at the sight of him struggling. Had it not been for the Kairōseki cuff, he could have easily escaped by shrinking down into a bat. Not only did he lost his freedom to use his devil power, his physical strength had greatly diminished.

His futile resistance seemed to have shaken the girl up as her eyes slowly opened. "Pluto," she whispered his name softly, gradually taking recognition of him. Suddenly, her embrace around her brother tightened, crushing his ribs and suffocating him. "I miss you!" She whined before rolling herself back on top, smothering him with nuzzling cheeks.

As much as he would like to feel the same way, he couldn't breathe. His face turning red from both the lack of oxygen and being flustered by her affectionate demeanor. "W-Wait!" he pleaded in a hoarsely voice, "I-I can't breathe!" Her arms tightened with every exhale like that of a boa constrictor. Her pent-up yearning in wanting to see him was slowly killing him.

"Miu!" he turned to the cat as a last resort out of desperation, "Save me!"

The kitten merely sat on her hind legs, watching the whole scene. "That's what you get for letting your sister cry. This is your punishment."

"I-I didn't cry," Rebecca said while clinging onto her human teddy bear tautly.

"You were crying like a baby until I finally told you that I'll retrieve him. Man… he was hard to find, and I now know why. Trying to catch someone who can fly sure is difficult," the feline had no idea that the boy possessed a Devil Fruit power. That fact alone completely threw a monkey ranch into her plans to protect them both from the Cipher Pol agent. While she successfully faked the sister's death through her shapeshifting powers, she had no idea what the brother did. One moment, she thought he died from a stab to the heart. The next moment, his body was completely gone from the scene. That was her only hint to indicate that he had somehow survived.

"What are you talking about? My brother can't fly," she said dubiously.

"Huh?" The kitten gaped her mouth open. "You're his sister, and you don't even know that he has special powers just like me?"

"Eh? Just like you?" The little one quickly shifted her glance at the immobilized boy, "Pluto! You can turn into a cat?"

"…," He blinked, left speechless. "No."

Miu leapt towards the head of the bed before resting her forepaws on the pillow from behind, peeking forth to cast a glance at the boy. "Oi! Oi! What's up with her not knowing?" An upside-down kitten head inched ever so closely over his face.

"Tell you what... remove this bracelet on my wrist, and I'll demonstrate my power to you all."

"Ha-ha-ha! Nice try! But I can't do that even I want to. I'm not the one who safeguards the key to your handcuff."

He remembered that brown-haired girl named Chika who just so happened to have guessed his Devil Fruit power correctly. There was only one possible way for that to be possible. "Hey Miu!" He said with an irritated tone. "Just how many people have you told about my power?"

"Meow?" The kitten tilted her head. "No one yet. I took a cat nap ever since I got back. And now I'm here to see you helpless under the mercy of your sister."

"You sure about that? Chika seemed to have already known about my power yesterday."

"Eh? Chika did?" The kitten clearly seemed to recognize that name. "But I didn't tell her. I haven't spoken to her at all yesterday."

"What are you two talking about?" Rebecca pouted, not understanding what they were saying. "What power? Can Pluto turn into a cat or not?"

"Ah… wouldn't that be nice?" the kitten thoughtfully pictured the boy being turned into one of her own kind. "I'd like to see him as a cat as well."

Pluto squirmed more as they daydreamed about him being a feline, "Gah! Just let me go already!"

"He-he…," the sister snickered. "I'm also tied up. Even I can't get out." She pressed up against him and soaked in his warmth. She missed this feeling of coziness.

"Miu! Cut the ropes with your claws!" He tossed the idea at the only mobile being in the room.

"Why would I do that?" The kitten gave a giddy smirk, "You sister looks so happy right now."

Hours drifted by slowly, quietly, and peacefully. His consciousnesses faded in and out. The cat was long gone, leaving just the two of them bundled up and restrained. As Rebecca was sound asleep, Pluto slowly nudged himself towards the edge of the bed. His torso slid off, dangling off the top mattress of the bunkbeds. With his wrists tied up, the loop that his arms made around his sister was gradually slipped over the girl's head, freeing his arms from being forced to hug her.

As he dangled upside-down, he bit onto the knots of his wrists with his front teeth, roughly disassembling and loosening the fibers until his hands were finally freed. Next, he worked on untying the knot that had bounded them together by their waists.

Plummeting off the bedside entirely, he flipped and landed softly on his feet, arms gently holding the girl princess style.

"Now then…," he murmured to himself. "I need to find the key to my cuff, and then I can fly out of this place." He lowered the girl's legs while supporting her back, but even as he released her entirely, her arms still clung onto him as she dangled off him.

"Hm?" He dragged her onto the lower bed and attempted to yank her arms off his torso, yet all that achieved was Rebecca tightening her grip even more.

 _H-Has she always been this strong?_

He stared at the energy-sapping, power-sealing, diamond-hard bracelet struck to his wrist, placing all the blame onto his restraint.

 _No… perhaps I simply can't muster my full strength. But… am I so weak that even my little sister can overpower me in her sleep?_

The boy wanted to leave the room, but he couldn't do so with another human being struck to him like so. He wouldn't dare do anything to harm her, so that only leaved one option left. His fingers quickly dug into her sides and wiggled them rapidly, and immediately, he invoked a series of giggling from the girl who found herself abruptly woken up by the tickling. Her grasp upon him loosened, granting the boy a window of opportunity to step back and distance himself away from her.

"Eh!" Rebecca reached out her hand towards him with a look of betrayal on her face.

"Guh!" A feeling of guilt quickly pierced his heart when he saw her giving such a saddened look. Her eyes grew watery. Her lips trembled with a frown. She acted like a kid who had just lost her beloved teddy bear and couldn't go to sleep without it.

"Ugh…," the boy looked away for a moment, trying to avoid eye contact. But in utter defeat, he quietly closed the distance and sat at the bedside where arms quickly wrapped around his waist.

She closed her eyes, rested her face against him, and smiled softly in ease.

 _Well… they have taken care of her for this long. Maybe this isn't such a bad place to be after all._


	17. The Key

Pluto departed out the wooden door, immediately greeted by a cool stream of air. It was the middle of the night. A creamy-white crescent moon illuminated the night with its dim lights. The sky was devoid of clouds, vacant much like the land that stretched ahead of him; just about everyone should be indoors right about now.

Closing the door shut, the boy ambled off, but just as he was about to lower his guard, his eyes immediately sharpened. After just a dozen strides away, he sensed that someone was nearby, tailing him from behind. This presence was very close by, approaching him slowly and furtively. He couldn't hear any footsteps; whoever it was, they were trying to approach him undetected.

He continued his pace and kept his eyes forward, but his mind was attentively monitoring the one creeping up from behind. It was quite unusual; five meters away, anyone would have at least tried to vocally call out to him at this point.

Three meters away.

Even now, he didn't sense any hostility or bloodlust; this only made him more anxious as it wasn't clear what their intentions were. This uncertainty made it difficult for him to act.

Two meters away.

His fingers twitched, desperately itching to ball up into a fist. Any second now, his body was on full alert to retaliate. A variety of simulations ran through his head, anticipating various forms of ambush that could unfold under these circumstances.

One meter away.

"BOO!" abruptly, a cute-sounding chirp completely circumvented his expectations. The sound came from a brown-haired girl who's just subtly shorter than him. Her eyes blinked as the blade of a hand was just centimeters away from the side of her neck. She couldn't see it all, the sudden motion of the boy's swivel and the chopping movement of his arm. It all happened so fast. She was impressed.

"…," Pluto stared down at his potential threat with tensed brows and piercing eyes. But when the most innocent-looking face was staring back at him in response, his face melted into confusion. "Ch-Chika…?" He stuttered.

"Ah! You remembered my name!" she said sprightly. "Did I startle you?" The brunette tilted her head to the side, leaning into the boy's hand.

Quickly withdrawing his arm, Pluto took a half-step back. "Why are you here?" he blurted out the first question that came to mind.

"I wanted to see you," she answered earnestly. "So? Is it official yet? Are you part of the revolutionaries now?"

He reluctantly nodded.

"Hmm…," she grinned. "Then…, have you figured it out yet… about how I managed to guess your Devil Fruit power correctly?"

Tensing his face, he avoided eye contact, remaining silent.

"No luck, huh? Did you ask others how many people here know about your power?"

"…," he shifted his eyes in the opposite direction, clearly uncomfortable. He had already asked Miu, but that feline hadn't denied having told anyone. That cat may be a prankster, but she didn't seem the type to lie to the one she constantly calls 'master'.

"I see…, so you **are** curious about me."

Gnashing his teeth, the boy strode off, each step hitting the ground harder than usual. Off to the side, the girl had briefly powerwalked up to his flank before matching his pace. She gazed at him; her lips quivering a bit before breaking into a suppressed giggle.

"Hey Pluto!" she called out to him.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Isn't the night sky beautiful?" she gesticulated towards the heavens, embracing the mystic vibe of the darkness that was glittered with twinkling white stars that seemed to surround the moon.

"Hm?" He traced along the line of her sight, gazing up towards the sky. For him, the scenery was nothing new, but the sheer vastness would always make him feel small. "I suppose."

"Pluto, you can fly, right?" Her eyes shifted to the side, watching for his response.

"Not anymore," he raised his left wrist to remind her of his new handicap.

Chika held her own wrist behind her back and leaned closer to him, "Well, once you get your powers back, will you be fly while carrying someone else?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?"

"Because," she held her fists close to her chest while speaking with passion, "It's every kid's dream to be able to fly." Being able to freely sail across the air, untethered by the earth and seas, such an ability seemed like the purest form of freedom.

"Is it? I can only carry someone light during flight." He had only carried one person a few times. The extra weight would slow him down and demanded more energy from his wings. His personal rule of thumbs was that the person he carries should not be heavier than himself.

"Then, what about me? Am I light enough?" She asked curiously.

"Eh!?" He froze stiff. The image of carrying her in the night sky popped into his head, and immediately, he mentally ripped that image apart, removing it from his consciousness. Looking away, he quietly answered, "… p-probably."

"Hmm… I see!" Her tone was full of satisfaction.

…

The next morning….

Within a large auditorium with grey-brick walls and ascending rows of wooden seats and desks that stretched across the room in a semi-circle, the children were seated, listening to a class taught by Inazuma, a man with a rather flamboyant appearance. The left half of his body consisted of orange hair, an orange lens of his glasses, orange half of a coat, and a dark-orange boot while the right side of his body consisted of white hair, a white lens to his glasses, white half of a coat, and a white boot. He had a squarish jawline, speaking in a cold, logical, and emotionless tone of voice. Beside him was a large green chalkboard filled with equations and maps taped onto the surface.

Some of the children paid attention. Some were dozing off. Some were asleep.

Pluto was asleep. His arms flat on his desk, forming a makeshift pillow for his head to bury into.

"Hey, Pluto, are you awake?" Chika whispered from the side, seated to his immediate right.

His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice, but he tried to not show any form of response.

 _Darn… it's her again… I'll just play dead._

"Hmm…, well, I guess you don't want this key to your bracelet then," the girl smiled deviously as she held up a small item in her hand.

"…," the boy sharply raised his head up, "EH!?" His eyes darted to the side, spotting a silver key in the girl's hand. "T-That is…!?" He was dumbfounded. The bracelet around his left wrist had a small keyhole; the size and shape of the key in her hand could reasonably be the real key to his cuff.

 _Is that real!? Or… is that just a fake!?_

"It's real!" She informed, dangling the key in front of his violet eyes to entice him.

 _Did she just read my mind!?_

"No way…," he was dubious of her claim. There was no way that the real key to remove the Kairōseki bracelet could be so conveniently a few feet away from him. "Why would you of all people have it?" He challenged her claim. There was no way that the higher ups would entrust such an item to a little girl like her. And, they were naïve enough to do just that, why would she purposely just reveal it to him out in the open like this? This had to be a trap. It was too obvious! It was most definitely a trap!

"I stole it," she answered quietly.

 _Yeah right… as if the key can be stolen by a little girl…_

"T-Then…," he held out an open palm facing upward, "G-Give it to me."

"Hm?" She tilted her head innocently. "Why would I do that?" She gave him a perplexed look.

"… Huh?" he blinked. Why would the girl bother to steal the key and show it to him only to then not give it to him?

"You're wearing that bracelet because you're too dangerous for even the higher ups to handle, right?" She had heard rumors about him.

"What? No… They just don't want me to fly off and escape."

 _S-Should I… take it from her by force? She's just an ordinary girl. It'll be like taking candy from a baby._

"Hmm? But it'd be risky if I just let you go free. You know where our secret hideout is. If word gets out, that could be disastrous for us," she said thoughtfully as they were in Baltigo after all – a place no one but them know existed.

"But… I joined the Revolutionary Army, so I wouldn't betray them."

"Hmm… can I really trust you, though? You've been secretive and mysterious. No one really knows much about you, and you haven't been very open with me at all."

Pluto winced the more he heard her speak, each of her statement pushing him further and further up against a corner. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"Class dismissed," Inazuma announced. Almost immediately, the children rose up from their seats, ready to leave the room.

Chika then smirked as she rose up from her seat, "Well… I suppose I could you give you one chance."

"?" Pluto looked at her inquisitively.

"If you can take this key away from me within the next five minutes, you get to keep it. If you lose, then I'll hang on to it," she established yet another very simple game, and after a few seconds of letting him soak her words in, the brunette powerwalked away.

 _Five minutes? You underestimate me..._

Springing from his seat, Pluto bolted straight for the girl, and in response, Chika looked straight ahead and meandered away through the crowd of students.

 _Damn it! She purposely timed it right when the students are leaving!_

He may be fast, but with this many people obstructing his path and view, not only did he have to chase after her, he also had to find her in the midst out of all these swarming little rascals. Zigzagging with every stride, he weaved and slipped through the mob of children.

Once he bypassed the bottleneck at the doorway, the most concentrated point of population was past him. Without pause, he dashed down the corridor, eyes rapidly scanning left and right in search for the brunette. The further he ran, the more spacious it became. Neighboring kids stared at the nimble boy rushing down the hallway at inhuman speed.

"!" Immediately, his eyes pinpointed and zoomed in on a girl with long glossy brown hair. He outreached a hand, ready to grab her by the arm or shoulder until he noticed that she was nonchalantly ambling alongside with two other girls.

 _EH!?_

Immediately, he hit the brakes, decelerating as his shoes slid across the floor. As the three girls turned around, Pluto retracted his arm while stumbling a few steps back. The two girls on the side gave him weird looks while Chika, who stood at the center, was suppressing a snicker at the sight of him hesitating.

There was no doubt in his mind that this had to be part of Chika's plans as well. She was the one who set up this game but chose not to run away, counting on the assumption that he wouldn't do anything to her when surrounded by this many eyes gazing upon him.

It was at this point that Pluto encountered a weakness that even he had not realized: crowds. As someone who operated at night, lurking in the shadows and hiding from plain sight, he was not used to navigating through crowds of people. He would always avoid them. He was not used to being seen by so many pairs of eyes all at once; he was not used to being at the center of attention here. It all felt wrong.

He felt judged and self-conscious. His heart throbbed; his cheeks heated up. Something about this felt humiliating. But he couldn't do anything right now other than continuing to walk at a regular pace behind these girls. He kept his distance while locking his sight onto his target.

 _D-Damn it… I can't do anything right now…_

Once Chika exited the building, she quickly waved to her two friends, "I need to go now, see ya!" The brunette then abruptly dashed off.

"Eh? Chika?" the two girls were perplexed at their hasty friend who just ran off with very little warning. Suddenly, a breeze blew straight between them, astonishing them both. They then saw the boy from before bolting forth at a speed that didn't know was possible for a kid, chasing down their friend. Neither of them knew what was going on at this point. Were they playing a game of tag?

 _Tch… Chika sure took her sweet time while inside, killing much of my time. But now…, if it's a contest of speed, I won't lose._

The brunette giggled as she looked behind her with a smirk on her face. "You acted exactly as I predicted, Pluto."

"Do you really think you can outrun me!?" He was vexed, being only five meters away from his target. But his body suddenly grew sluggish. Soon, he came to a complete halt, hands pressed against his knees as he panted for air.

 _W-What!? I'm… out of breath already!?_

"He-he-he!" Another jaunty giggle erupted from the girl as she stopped at a safe distance from him. "I knew it! With the Kairōseki strapped onto you, you overestimated your stamina."

"Haah… Haah… Haah…," he continued to wheeze as beads of sweat trickled down his face.

 _She challenged me to a physical contest… knowing that the Kairōseki would hinder me? Even a little girl… has more stamina than me!?_

With the silver key held in her hand, Chika raised the grand prize in front him, taunting him along with a devious smile of triumph. "Well now, Pluto…, I do believe that your five minutes are up. I guess I'll just hang on to this for now."

"Wait!" He staggered forth with shaky legs. "I'm not done yet!"

"Hmm? I don't mind if you chase me some more, but… are you sure about that?" she ended her question with a smirk.

"!" His eyes soon shifted side to side, only now realizing that there were bystanders around with some already watching him. As much as he wanted the key, having others witness him chasing her down was not an imagery he wished to portray.

 _Damn you, Chika!_


End file.
